PRIME MINISTER

Oxfordshire Coroner

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister what meetings  (a) he and  (b) his officials held with the Oxfordshire Coroner between 17 July 2003 and 31 March 2004.

Tony Blair: None.

Party Funding

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Prime Minister when he last had discussions with his Special Envoy to the Middle East on matters relating to party funding; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues and others on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

TRANSPORT

A21

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made a decision on the proposed A21 upgrade; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: We announced on 6 July our response to the advice from the South East region about its major scheme priorities to 2011. As part of this, we have accepted the region's advice to include the A21 Tonbridge Bypass to Pembury Dualling, the A21 Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst Bypass and the A21 Baldslow Junction Improvement within the programme of schemes that we expect to be taken forward in the South East in the next five years, subject to the completion of all necessary statutory procedures and compliance with the Department's scheme appraisal requirements. The Tonbridge Bypass to Pembury and Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst schemes are already included in the Highways Agency's Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI). The Highways Agency will be developing the Baldslow Junction Improvement scheme so that it can be considered for entry into the TPI in due course. Further advice from the South East region is expected later this year on its priorities for other major schemes in the period up to 2015-16, including other improvements on the A21.

Aircraft Carbon Emissions

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the carbon emissions of  (a) a typical short haul aircraft flying 1,000 miles and  (b) a typical long haul aircraft flying 3,000 miles; what assessment he has made of the extent to which such emissions vary according to (i) load factors and (ii) the generation of the aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: In the context of the international debate on aircraft emissions control, the Government have supported research on inventories—the EC AERO2K project—that yield fuel consumption information. Average carbon emissions for typical journeys have not been specifically calculated, but are possible future outputs from inventory work alongside aircraft performance modelling.

Airports

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of people who took  (a) no,  (b) one,  (c) two,  (d) three or four and  (e) five or more single or return flights (i) in total, (ii) to UK destinations, (iii) to European destinations and (iv) to worldwide destinations in the last 12 months, broken down by (A) income quintile and (B) classification of residential neighbourhoods.

Gillian Merron: The following table shows the number of flights in percentage terms taken by adults in Great Britain during the last 12 months (2005). Data are not available by income quintile, but in five broad bands as shown.
	Data are not available by destination or broken down by classification of residential neighbourhoods.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Household income group  
			  Number of flights in last 12 months  Under £10,000  £10,000 but under £20,000  £20,000 but under £29,000  £29,000 but under £44,000  £44,000 or more  All respondents 
			 None 74 64 42 38 20 48 
			 One 15 12 21 18 16 16 
			 Two 6 14 20 15 18 16 
			 Three or four 4 4 13 12 21 10 
			 Five or more 1 5 4 16 24 10 
			  100 100 100 100 100 100 
			 Sample size 232 231 136 161 187 1,100 
			  Source:  "2005 British Social Attitudes Survey" conducted by the National Centre for Social Research. Question: How many trips did you make by plane during the last 12 months. Please count outward and return flights and any transfers as one trip.

Airports

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate has been made of the cost to the economy of delays of aircraft  (a) take-off and  (b) landing in 2005-06.

Gillian Merron: This information is not held by the Department.

Airports

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average delay was for a passenger using  (a) all UK airports and  (b) each UK airport in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: Information on punctuality for 10 UK airports is collected by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
	Table 2.3 of the DfT publication 'Transport Statistics Great Britain' summarises the CAA data for the years 1994-2004.
	The latest available data (2002-Q1 2006) for each of the reporting airports for is published on the CAA website in 'news articles' at the following address:
	http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/14/PN3506Quarter.pdf

Airports

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what guidelines are in place on the degree of glide slope for commercial and cargo planes when making an approach to land at each airport in Great Britain;
	(2)  what international guidelines are in place on the degree of glide slope for commercial and cargo planes when making an approach to land at an airport.

Gillian Merron: International guidance on the approach gradient and glide-path angle is published by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) (ICAO Pans Ops DOC 8168). In designing policy and guidance, applicable at all airports in Great Britain, the Civil Aviation Authority follows this international guidance.
	Approach procedures categorise aircraft by their approach speeds and not by the purpose of the flight. The guidance sets out minimum/optimum descent gradients for standard procedures but acknowledges that there may be occasions where steeper approaches might be necessary. Such procedures are normally restricted to specifically approved operators and aircraft.
	UK specific information on instrument approaches to UK aerodromes is published in the Civil Aviation Publication 32 (CAP32), the UK Aeronautical Information Publication. This publication contains approach charts for each specific licensed aerodrome which include, among other matters, information on minimum safe altitudes and minimum descent heights.

Airports

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers used UK airports in  (a) total and  (b) broken down by airport in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: Information on terminal (arriving and departing) passengers at each UK airport is published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and available on their website at the following address:
	http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/80/airport_data/2005Annual/Table_ 10 _3_Terminal_Pax_1995_2005.pdf

Bus Services

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the proportion of  (a) rural and  (b) urban households which have access to a regular bus service.

Gillian Merron: The data requested are published in Table 5.9 in the Transport Statistics Bulletin 'National Travel Survey: 2004'. This publication is available at www.dft.gov.uk/transtat/personaltravel and a copy has also been deposited in the House of Commons Library.

Car Clubs

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many areas have car clubs; how many cars each has available; and what public funding each receives.

Gillian Merron: Information about car clubs is published on the CarPlus website at www.carplus.org.uk. According to this, there are 30 car clubs, with a total of 345 cars covering 40 towns and cities, and 9,124 users.

Comprehensive Spending Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with  (a) the Treasury and  (b) the Cabinet Office regarding the pre-comprehensive spending review report; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Secretary of State for Transport has had and will continue to have wide ranging and regular discussions with the Chief Secretary about preparations for the 2007 comprehensive spending review, as a matter of key importance to the Department for Transport's medium and long-term planning.

Disabled People (Blue Badge Scheme)

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of the recommendations of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee's review of the blue badge scheme which were accepted by the Department have been implemented; and if he will make a statement on progress towards those accepted recommendations which have yet to be implemented.

Gillian Merron: DPTAC made 47 recommendations about the blue badge scheme. Of those that were accepted, five required no further action. Provision for a power to inspect blue badges has been made through Section 94 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. The Commencement Order was made on 29 June 2006 with an implementation date of 29 September 2006.
	Research is being carried out into the feasibility of setting up a national database of blue badge holders; the independent mobility needs of certain groups of people, such as those with autism or mental health problems, to determine whether there is a need for extending the eligibility for a badge; and examining the provision and use of parking spaces for disabled people in the central London area.
	Work continues on the remaining recommendations. These include a number that require changes to regulations (such as extending the scheme to children under the age of two and those with temporary mobility impairments) and we will consult on a draft regulatory package later this year which will address 23 of the remaining recommendations.

Social Exclusion

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research has been conducted since 2001 by or for his Department on the links between social exclusion and transport.

Gillian Merron: The Department contributed to the Social Exclusion Unit's research into the links between transport and social exclusion ('Making the Connections', published in 2003). Accessibility planning was introduced as a result of this report, and we have taken forward a programme of further research, in liaison with other Government Departments and local authorities, to inform its development and implementation. Details of the projects conducted, and associated published reports, are on the Department's website at www.accessibi lityplanning.gov.uk.
	Since 2001 the Department has been funding a research project implementing 103 child pedestrian training schemes ('Kerbcraft') in 64 English local authorities in areas of deprivation. Last year the Department published the research findings into understanding community severance. The Department is currently examining the extent that voluntary and community transport contributes to reducing social exclusion, and is examining travel training schemes to improve socially excluded people's awareness of and ability to access public transport safely and independently.
	The Department has two research projects in progress, findings from which will be available by the end of the year. 'Understanding the travel choices, needs, behaviours and aspirations of people in later life' is a qualitative study involving 55 depth interviews with a range of older people. As a part of this study, older people have been asked about whether they have any transport-related barriers to accessing key services and social activities. In addition, a small-scale analysis of survey data on the links between fear of crime, travel choices and social exclusion is also in progress.
	The Department is also about to complete a piece of work with the Plunkett Foundation and the Community Transport Association to look at the role of social enterprise in community transport. This will include a programme of work to support those community transport operators interested in becoming more self-sustaining.
	The Dealing with Disadvantage initiative was launched in October 2002, and subsequently renamed the Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative (NRSI). DfT allocated approximately £17 million to 15 local authorities to develop innovative strategies to improve road safety in their most deprived wards. The NRSI was originally envisaged to run until March 2006, but this has been extended and central government funding will now end in March 2007. The NRSI evaluation was commissioned in January 2004 from a consortium led by University College London. The evaluation is due to be completed in October 2008.

Social Exclusion

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what changes in  (a) legislation and  (b) guidance issued by (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies there have been since the publication of the Department's report on social exclusion and the provision and availability of public transport in 2000;
	(2)  what changes in  (a) legislation and  (b) guidance issued by his Department or its agencies there have been since the publication of 'Making the Connections' final report on transport and social exclusion by the social exclusion unit in 2003.

Gillian Merron: A number of measures have been taken:
	 Accessibility planning
	Guidance on Local Transport Plans (LTPs), issued in December 2004, required authorities to incorporate accessibility strategies in their second-round LTPs, which were submitted to the Department at the end of March 2006 and cover the period to 2010-11. At the same time, the Department published and distributed detailed guidance to local authorities on accessibility planning in LTPs.
	 Flexible services and the voluntary sector
	In 2002, Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) was extended to a wide range of community transport (voluntary sector) services.
	In 2002 the Department published and distributed guidance on flexible transport services, setting out the options available under current legislation.
	Regulations on bus service registration were amended in February 2004 to allow "flexibly routed" and "demand responsive" bus services to be registered. At the same time these services were made eligible to receive BSOG.
	Between 1998 and 2003, the rural and urban bus challenge grant schemes supported many new, innovative services aimed at improving social inclusion and accessibility.
	 Other Bus Initiatives
	A good practice guide to assist local authorities and operators engaged in the tendering of local bus services in England was published by the Department in February 2005.
	The local concessionary bus fare scheme has been extended to around one million men aged 60-64; from April 2006, off-peak local bus travel became free for older and disabled people in England; and from April 2008, a national concessionary fares scheme will be introduced for older and disabled people in England, to offer free off-peak travel on buses anywhere in the country.
	 Road safety
	The Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative is funding 15 councils with high child pedestrian casualty rates to deliver improvements across their deprived communities; and a research project implementing 103 child pedestrian training schemes ('Kerbcraft') in 64 English local authorities in areas of deprivation is currently being funded.
	Guidance on 'Tackling the road safety implications of disadvantage' was issued at the beginning of April 2003, to all English local highway authorities.

Speed Limits

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish revised guidance on Quiet Lanes following the consultation exercises conducted by his Department.

Gillian Merron: It is intended to publish the guidance as a Department for Transport circular this summer, following the publication of regulations.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Contingency Planning

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what legal measures the Government have in place to intervene in  (a) private and  (b) public sectors should a catastrophic breakdown of computer systems occur.

Patrick McFadden: Part 2 of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 provides the Government with a last resort mechanism for making rapid temporary legislation (emergency regulations) for dealing with the effects of the most serious emergencies where existing legislation is not sufficient. This could include measures to intervene in the event of a catastrophic breakdown of private or public sector computer systems.
	The Government expect all organisations forming part of the Critical National Infrastructure to have in place effective business continuity management arrangements.

Ministerial Meetings

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what meetings were held between  (a) the Minister for the Cabinet Office and  (b) Cabinet Office officials and the Oxfordshire Coroner between 17 July 2003 and 31 March 2004.

Hilary Armstrong: No meetings were held between the Minister for the Cabinet Office or Cabinet Office officials and the Oxfordshire Coroner between 17 July 2003 and 31 March 2004.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Veterinary Science (Hungary)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what support is available in the form of student loans for UK students studying veterinary science degrees in Hungary.

Bill Rammell: Student support is not available to higher education students who are studying courses provided wholly by overseas institutions. However, support is available to eligible students who spend a year studying abroad as part of a course offered by an institution in the United Kingdom.
	As a European Union national studying in another member state, a United Kingdom national who chooses to study at a Hungarian University should pay the same fees, and be entitled to the same financial assistance towards them, as a Hungarian student. Any support for living costs would be a matter for the Hungarian authorities.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Casinos

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who the members are of the Casino Advisory Panel; and with which towns and cities they are associated through their employment.

Richard Caborn: The members of the Casino Advisory Panel have all completed a register of interests, copies of which are available on request from the panel secretary. The panel has in place a robust system for managing any real or perceived conflicts of interest. Panel members have taken no part in the assessment of proposals from any areas with which they have a particular connection. The areas with which panel members have declared interests—whether personal or through employment—are set out in the table.
	
		
			  Panel member  Areas 
			 Stephen Crow (Chair) Bath and NE Somerset, Cardiff 
			 Chris Collison Mansfield, Manchester 
			 James Froomberg Significant connections: Brent, Falkirk, Manchester, Solihull, West Dunbartonshire, Wolverhampton. Minor connections: Glasgow, Greenwich, Hull, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Sefton, Sheffield, Wakefield. 
			 Neil Mundy Middlesbrough, Newcastle, South Tyneside, Sunderland. 
			 Deep Sagar Glasgow.

Casinos

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures have been taken to ensure that the decision-making process of the Casino Advisory Panel is transparent and objective.

Richard Caborn: The Casino Advisory Panel is required to operate within a Framework Document and Code of Practice, which have been agreed with the Secretary of State and copies of which are available on the Casino Advisory Panel website www.culture.gov.uk/CAP.
	The panel is required to provide reports to the Secretary of State at key points as it develops its recommendations. The purpose of these reports is for the panel to keep the Secretary of State in touch with its progress, and to assure the Secretary of State that the work methods the panel is adopting will result in robust and legally sustainable recommendations.
	The first two such progress reports have been published on the panel's website.

Casinos

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport why the Casino Advisory Panel has not kept minutes of its meetings since it was formed.

Richard Caborn: The panel has kept minutes of all of its meetings.
	Once the minutes have been agreed by the panel, copies are published on its website www.culture.gov.uk/CAP.

Casinos

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if the Government will instruct the Casino Advisory Panel to reopen the shortlisting process for the allocation of casino licences.

Richard Caborn: No. The Casino Advisory Panel operates entirely independently of Government, and it is due to make its final recommendations to Ministers by the end of 2006.

Casinos

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what previous connections there have been between members of the Casino Advisory Panel and the Department.

Richard Caborn: Professor Stephen Crow had no connections with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport prior to his appointment as Chair of the Casino Advisory Panel. I met Professor Crow on one occasion when I was a Minister at the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
	Chris Collison had no previous connections with the Department prior to his appointment as a member of the panel. However, as a consultant with the London borough of Waltham Forest he represented that council on the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics Joint Planning Advisory Team.
	James Froomberg made submissions to the gambling review body, which reported to the Department, on behalf of the greyhound racing industry. As a Director of Business in Sport and Leisure (BISL) and a member of BISL's gambling sub-group, until 2003 he was a member of a DCMS industry liaison group on behalf of the broader gambling industry. As Commercial Director of British Waterways, he has had a minor involvement in that company's Olympics related activities.
	As director of finance and subsequently chief executive at Tyne and Wear Development Corporation up to 1998, Neil Mundy was involved in a project funded by the Millennium Commission.
	Deep Sagar had no previous connections with DCMS prior to his appointment as a member of the panel.

Command Papers

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the unnumbered Command Papers produced by her Department in each session since 1976; by what means  (a) hon. Members and  (b) members of the public can (i) inspect and (ii) obtain copies; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: Documents which are laid before Parliament as unnumbered Command Papers are generally restricted to Explanatory Notes to Treaties, Explanatory Memorandum to Statutory Instruments and some Treasury Minutes. All other documents are published in the numbered Command Papers series.
	I have deposited in the Library a list of those unnumbered Command Papers published since 1998—the date at which the Department's searchable records begin. To go back further would entail disproportionate cost.
	Copies of all unnumbered Command Papers are made available via the Vote Office.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

City Regions Programme

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any funding for the city regions programme will be redirected from rural projects.

Phil Woolas: The Government have no plans or intention to do so.

Council Tax

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to increase council tax collection rates; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Council tax collection rates improved for the sixth successive year in 2005-06 with 96.8 per cent. of tax due collected in-year. Local authorities also collected another £380 million of tax owing from previous years in 2005-06.
	This improvement follows an earlier joint initiative between Government and the Local Government Association to help councils improve their collection rates. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister funded, through the local government e-innovations programme, a service for the exchange of data on council tax payers who move between authorities and an interactive council tax collection best practice guide

Councillors (Vexatious Complaints)

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what consideration has been given to providing councillors subjected to vexatious and malicious reporting to the Standards Board for England with means of redress;
	(2)  if she will bring forward measures to tackle the abuse of the procedures of the Standards Board for England by vexatious complainants; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The procedure whereby, before any investigation begins, the Standards Board seeks to filter out allegations without merit is the principal guard against vexatious and malicious reporting. The Board's current performance target is to filter out any such cases within 10 working days of receiving an allegation, and the Board's current track record on this is nine working days.
	Following its review of the code of conduct, the Standards Board proposed that the current requirement in the code to report to the Board any breach of the code by other members should be deleted. This amendment would reduce the encouragement some feel this provision gives to the reporting of trivial or vexatious complaints by members. We intend to consult on a draft revised code of conduct for local authority members later this year, to include this proposal.

Local Government Finance

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much block grant was paid to each local authority in England in the most recent year for which figures are available, expressed as  (a) a total amount and  (b) per capita.

Phil Woolas: A table has been placed in the Libraries of the House showing the amount of formula grant allocated to each authority in 2006-07, its mid-2006 population projection and its formula grant per head, i.e. its formula grant divided by its mid-2006 population projection. Formula grant comprises Revenue Support Grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula Police Grant.

Small Businesses

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make small business rate relief automatic for all eligible small firms.

Phil Woolas: We have recently published a consultation paper seeking views on proposals to relax the requirement for ratepayers to make an application for small business rate relief every year. The aim is to enable ratepayers to make just one application for relief between the five-year revaluations of non-domestic rateable values, provided the circumstances relating to the initial application remain unchanged. Comments are invited on the proposals in the consultation paper by 28 July.

Small Businesses

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Government's budget was for publicising small business rate relief in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06.

Phil Woolas: There was no specific budget to publicise the small business rate relief scheme as it was included in the general publicity campaign for the revaluation of non-domestic properties that took effect from April 2005.

Small Businesses

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the take-up rate of small business rate relief in each year since its introduction; and what the estimated cost is in each year.

Phil Woolas: On the basis of returns completed by local authorities before the start of each financial year, an estimated £390 million is expected to be claimed in small business rate relief for 2005-06 and £224 million for 2006-07. Applications for small business rate relief may be made up to six months after the end of the financial year to which the application relates, or six months from notification of an alteration to a rateable value that makes the hereditament eligible for relief. Details of the amount actually claimed for 2005-06 are not yet available.

Small Businesses

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been raised by the larger business rate multiplier on medium and large firms to fund small business rate relief in each year since its introduction.

Phil Woolas: On the basis of returns completed by local authorities before the start of each financial year, an estimated £355 million is expected to be raised from those businesses not eligible for the relief for 2005-06 and an estimated £316 million for 2006-07. Details of the amount actually raised from those businesses for 2005-06 are not yet available.
	The annual adjustment of the non-domestic rating multipliers provides the opportunity to address any difference between the amount of small business rate relief granted to qualifying properties and the amount raised from those businesses not eligible for the relief.

TREASURY

Cancer and Stroke Deaths

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the most recent rate of  (a) cancers and  (b) stroke was in (i) Gateshead, East and Washington, West, (ii) the North East and (iii) England.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 13 July 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the most recent rate is of (a) cancers and (b) stroke was in (i) Gateshead, East and Washington, West, (ii) the North East and (iii) England. (84678)
	 (a) Cancers—incidence
	The latest available rates for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2003. Incidence rates are not available centrally for parliamentary constituencies.
	Registration rates per 100,000 population, by site and sex, for (ii) the North East and (iii) England for the year 2003 are available in Table 5 of the Annual Reference Volume, Cancer statistics: Registrations, Series MB1. These are available on the National Statistics website:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=8843& Pos=l&ColRank=2&Rank=272
	Cancer incidence rates for all malignant cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (nmsc) for 2003 are given in Table 1 below for (i) Gateshead and Sunderland, (ii) the North East and (iii) England
	 (b) Stroke—incidence
	There is no complete register of stroke cases. Information is available centrally on emergency admission to hospital from the NHS Hospital Episode System (HES), and on death registrations.
	Figures on emergency admissions to hospital for strokes can be found on the Clinical and Health Outcomes Knowledge Base website: http://www.nchod.nhs.uk/ (Table reference numbers: 10C_5281SR7CM_04-V2 (males) 10C_5281SR7CF_04-V2 (females)). Figures are available for England, Government Office Regions, Strategic Health Authorities, Local Authorities and Primary Care Organisations. The latest year for which data are available is for the financial year 2003/04.
	 (c) Cancers and Stroke—mortality
	Mortality rates for parliamentary constituencies cannot be provided because population estimates are not available for these areas. Figures in Table 2 below are provided for the local authorities making up the requested constituency.
	The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in England and Wales in 2001 means that data for cancer are not completely comparable with data for years before this date.
	The effect of the change in classification in 2001 on deaths from these causes is described in a report published in May 2002: "Office for National Statistics. Results of the ICD-10 bridge coding study, England and Wales, 1999. Health Statistics Quarterly 14 (2002), 75-83".
	
		
			  Table 1—Incidence rates( 1)  per million population for all malignant cancers( 2 ) registered in Gateshead and Sunderland local authorities, the North East Government office region and England, 2003 
			   All cancers excluding nmsc 
			 Gateshead 4,131 
			 Sunderland 3,927 
			 North East 3,941 
			 England 3,572 
			 (1) Rates per million population standardised to the European Standard Population.  (2) 'All malignant cancers' are defined by codes C00-C97 excluding non-melanoma skin cancer code C44 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10).   Source:  Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2—Death rates( 1 ) for cancer and stroke( 2)  for the local authorities of Gateshead and Sunderland, the North East Government office region and England( 3) ,2004( 4) 
			   Cancer  Stroke 
			 Gateshead 2,032 618 
			 Sunderland 1,995 727 
			 North East 2,074 646 
			 England 1,793 573 
			 (1) Rates per 1,000,000 population standardised to the European Standard Population.  (2) The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), 2004. The codes used are: "Cancer—ICD10 C00-C97 & Stroke—ICD10 160-169". Deaths were selected using the original underlying cause.  (3) Usual residents of this area. The local authority of Gateshead comprises part of Gateshead, East and Washington, West constituency, the whole of Blaydon constituency plus parts of Jarrow and Tyne Bridge constituencies. The local authority of Sunderland comprises part of Gateshead, East and Washington, West constituency plus the whole of Houghton and Washington, East Sunderland, North and Sunderland, South constituencies.  (4) Deaths registered in this year.   Source:  Office for National Statistics

Comprehensive Spending Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish the pre-comprehensive spending review report; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Gentleman to what the Chancellor of the Exchequer said on the Floor of the House yesterday.

Corporation Tax

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what annual average amount of additional tax is expected to be paid as a consequence of the removal of the 0 per cent. starting rate of corporation tax by  (a) the 720,000 companies expected to be affected by this change and  (b) the 870,000 companies which make less than £10,000 annual profit.

John Healey: holding answer 12 May 2006
	The annual median increase for the 720,000 companies affected is given in the Budget 2006 Regulatory Impact Assessment (paragraph 1.23). http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ria/ria-corporation-tax.pdf. There are 370,000 companies with annual profits of up to £10,000, and their increase is included in the above.

Data Protection

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1620W, on data protection, whether all redactions made to documents in the case of subject access requests to HM Revenue and Customs are effected by the central team rather than within the sub- offices.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 13 July 2006
	All redactions made to documents in the case of subject access requests are made by the officer holding the data before it is forwarded to the central team. Any appeal against the non-disclosure of data as a result of redaction is considered by the central team.

Departmental Assets

Mark Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the proceeds were from the sale of assets of his Department in each of the last five financial years.

John Healey: The proceeds from the sale of assets are disclosed in the Department's Resource Accounts, specifically the Cash Flow Statement's supporting notes. These can be found on the Treasury website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/resourceaccounts/resource accounts_jndex.cfm
	The 2005-06 Accounts were laid on 29 June 2006, are due to be published by 18 July 2006 and will be available on the website by the end of July 2006.

Environmental Investment Allowance

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies have qualified for the 100 per cent. first-year investment allowance for moving from environmentally unfriendly to environmentally friendly technologies and processes in each year since 1999.

John Healey: All businesses can claim 100 per cent. enhanced capital allowances (EGA) on their qualifying spending on designated energy-saving (introduced in 2001) and water efficient (introduced in 2003) technologies and low carbon dioxide emission cars (introduced in 2002).
	The total number of companies that ticked a box on their Corporation Tax returns to show a claim to EGAs is detailed as follows:
	
		
			   Number of companies claiming EGAs on their corporation tax return form( 1) 
			 2001-02 60 
			 2002-03 848 
			 2003-04 1,549 
			 2004-05(2) 1,754 
			 (1) These numbers do not include claims to capital allowances made or amended after a company has sent in its corporation tax return for (CT600). (2) Information for 2004-05 is not yet complete.  Note: There are three EGA schemes for i) energy-saving technology, ii) low carbon dioxide emission cars and natural gas and hydrogen refuelling equipment and iii) water-efficient technology.

HM Revenue and Customs

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total value was of contraband seized by HM Customs and Revenue in Wales in each year since 2003.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 11 July 2006
	The estimated value of goods seized by HM Revenue and Customs in Wales since 2003 is:
	
		
			   Total (£) 
			 2003-04 850,598 
			 2004-05 703,627 
		
	
	These figures do not include any vehicles that may have been used to transport the goods and which may have been seized. Nor do they include any VAT or duty due on the goods.
	Figures for 2005-06 have not yet been published.

HM Revenue and Customs

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when decisions are expected to be made about the long-term future of the HM Revenue and Customs office in Kendal; who will make those decisions; and what options are being considered.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 13 July 2006
	HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have no current plans to alter their presence in Kendal.
	Decisions about how and where HMRC work is carried out are taken by the Board of HMRC in consultation with Treasury Ministers.

Income Tax

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many income tax payers in each London borough had an annual income of less than £7,185.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of income tax payers in each London borough with total annual income of less than £7,185 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  London borough  Number of taxpayers with total annual income less than £7,185 in 2003-04 (Thousand)  95 per cent. confidence interval lower limit (Thousand)  95 per cent. confidence interval upper limit (Thousand) 
			 Barking and Dagenham 7 5 9 
			 Barnet 11 9 14 
			 Bexley 9 6 11 
			 Brent 13 11 16 
			 Bromley 11 8 13 
			 Camden 9 7 12 
			 City of London(1) — — — 
			 Croydon 14 12 17 
			 Ealing 13 11 16 
			 Enfield 11 9 14 
			 Greenwich 10 8 12 
			 Hackney 10 7 12 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 9 7 11 
			 Haringey 12 10 15 
			 Harrow 9 7 11 
			 Havering 13 10 15 
			 Hillingdon 9 7 11 
			 Hounslow 10 8 12 
			 Islington 8 6 10 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 6 4 8 
			 Kingston upon Thames 7 5 9 
			 Lambeth 11 8 13 
			 Lewisham 13 10 15 
			 Merton 7 5 8 
			 Newham 14 11 17 
			 Redbridge 13 10 16 
			 Richmond upon Thames(1) — — — 
			 Southwark 11 9 14 
			 Sutton 8 6 10 
			 Tower Hamlets 9 7 12 
			 Waltham Forest 11 9 14 
			 Wandsworth 10 7 12 
			 Westminster 7 5 9 
			 (1)Sample size too small to provide a reliable estimate. 
		
	
	These estimates have been obtained from the Survey of Personal Incomes 2003-04 and are the latest available.
	Confidence intervals have been provided due to small sample sizes. A 95 per cent. confidence interval means that if we were to take repeated samples, then 95 per cent. of the time the number of taxpayers with total income less than £7,185 per annum, would be between the lower and upper confidence interval ranges indicated in the table.

Pensioner Deaths

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in whose death  (a) subnormal body temperature or hypothermia and  (b) malnutrition or deprivation of food was a primary cause in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) rural and (ii) non-rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 13 July 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what estimate has been made of the number of pensioners in whose death (a) subnormal body temperature or hypothermia and (b) malnutrition or deprivation of food was a primary cause in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) rural and (ii) non-rural areas. I am replying in her absence. (84621)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2004.
	Most routine mortality statistics are based on a single cause for each death, the underlying cause of death which is defined by the World Health Organisation as:
	(a) the disease which initiated the train of events directly leading to death; or
	(b) the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury.
	Hypothermia and deprivation of food can never be the underlying cause of death according to this definition. However, figures are available for deaths where hypothermia or 'effects of hunger' were mentioned on the death certificate.
	Information is available on deaths where malnutrition was the underlying cause of death.
	Table 1 below shows the number of deaths where the underlying cause was malnutrition, and Table 2 shows the number of deaths where hypothermia or 'effects of hunger' were mentioned on the death certificate, excluding those deaths mentioning 'effects of hunger' where malnutrition was the underlying cause. Figures are for deaths occurring in each year from 1997 to 2004. As retirement age differs for males and females, tables are provided separately for deaths of women aged 60 and over and men aged 65 and over.
	A breakdown of the figures requested by rural and non-rural areas is not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths where malnutrition( 1 ) was the underlying cause of death, men and women of pensionable age, England and Wales, 1997 to 2004( 2) 
			   Men aged 65 and over  Women aged 60 and over 
			 1997 15 28 
			 1998 13 31 
			 1999 12 23 
			 2000 15 18 
			 2001 18 30 
			 2002 23 30 
			 2003 19 38 
			 2004 14 29 
			 (1 )Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 260-263 for the years 1997 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes E40-E46 from 2001 onwards.  (2) Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of deaths where hypothermia( 1)  or 'effects of hunger'( 2)  was mentioned on the death certificate, men and women of pensionable age, England and Wales, 1997 to 2004( 3) 
			   Hypothermia  'Effects of hunger' 
			   Men aged 65 and over  Women aged 60 and over  Men aged 65 and over  Women aged 60 and over 
			 1997 114 184 0 4 
			 1998 103 184 2 0 
			 1999 96 162 0 1 
			 2000 89 164 0 5 
			 2001 79 121 0 0 
			 2002 50 81 2 1 
			 2003 42 98 1 0 
			 2004 48 77 1 2 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes N991.6 for the years 1997 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes T68 from 2001 onwards.  (2) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes N994.2 for the years 1997 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes T73.0 from 2001 onwards, excluding deaths where the underlying cause was malnutrition.  (3) Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.

Personal Debt

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the total amount of personal debt in the UK was in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the total amount of personal debt was for people aged between 16 and 24 in each year since 1997 in the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of personal debt is due to student loans for those aged between 18 and 29 years in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what the average amount of credit card debt per person aged between 16 and 24 years was in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what the average amount of unsecured debt has been for people aged between 16 and 24 years in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 13 July 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions on personal debt in the UK. (82901, 82902, 82911, 82913 & 82915)
	We are unable to provide levels of personal debt by age group and do not currently publish data on personal debt split by student loans or by credit card debt.
	The available information is shown in the table below.
	
		
			   Total personal debt( 1)  (end-year) (£ million)  Secured personal debt( 2)  (end-year) (£ million)  Unsecured personal debt( 3 ) (end-year) (£ million)  Other debt( 4)  (end-year) (£ million)  Average unsecured personal debt( 5)  (end-year) (£ million) 
			 1997 586,659 429,679 88,412 68,568 1,943 
			 1998 625,134 455,901 97,404 71,829 2,133 
			 1999 675,599 492,854 109,208 73,537 2,381 
			 2000 734,790 534,066 124,323 76,401 2,696 
			 2001 810,665 590,238 140,891 79,536 3,036 
			 2002 923,144 669,390 157,748 96,006 3,378 
			 2003 1,046,913 772,931 163,506 110,476 3,480 
			 2004 1,172,032 875,852 183,390 112,790 3,875 
			 2005 1,275,740 965,515 192,905 117,320 4,042 
			 When using Table 64 of United Kingdom Economic Accounts (web link given below) the database identifiers are (1) NNPP, (2) NNRP, (3) NNRG and NNRK, (4) NNPP-NNRP-NNRG-NNRK (5) NNRG plus NNRK/MGSL  Note:  For the denominator in the calculation for the average unsecured personal debt the series used is population aged 16 plus (database identifier MGSL). 
		
	
	The balance sheet for the household sector provides estimates of the total assets and liabilities held by households. These measures are produced and published only in cash terms. These are the only measures of household sector debt that the ONS publishes.
	There is no standard approach to the presentation of debt information beyond the National Accounts. Some external users construct measures of debt as a share of income, as a guide to affordability. For example the Bank of England sometimes look at household debt as a share of gross households' disposable income. A time series of these figures is shown in the table below.
	
		
			   Total personal debt( 1)  (end-year) as a percentage of gross disposable income  Secured personal debt( 2)  (end-year) as a percentage of gross disposable income  Unsecured personal debt( 3)  (end-year) as a percentage of gross disposable income 
			 1997 104.8 76.7 15.8 
			 1998 107.3 78.2 16.7 
			 1999 110.9 80.9 17.9 
			 2000 114.2 83.2 19.3 
			 2001 118.1 86.0 20.5 
			 2002 130.2 94.4 22.3 
			 2003 141.4 104.4 22.1 
			 2004 153.1 114.4 24.0 
			 2005 159.3 120.6 24.1 
			 When using Table 64 of United Kingdom Economic Accounts (web link given below) the database identifiers are (1) NNPP (2) NNRP (3) NNRG plus NNRK   Note:  For the denominator in the three calculations for debt as a proportion of gross household disposable income the database identifier is QWND. Table A38 of United Kingdom Economic Accounts (web link given below). 
		
	
	The estimates for total personal debt, secured personal debt and unsecured debt (households' total financial liabilities other than secured debt), are national accounts series for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. Estimates for households alone are not available. NPISHs are legal entities which are principally engaged in the production of non-market services for households and whose main resources are voluntary contributions by households. For example, charities; relief and aid organisations; educational establishments; trade unions; professional associations, political parties and religious organisations, and sports clubs and associations.
	The estimate for gross disposable income is a national accounts series which represents the income available to the household sector in a given period for spending on goods and services, for saving or for investing.
	Further data are available for household sector financial assets and liabilities from table A64 in United Kingdom Economic Accounts which is available at the following address: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1904&Pos=& ColRank=1&Rank=422.

Personal Debt

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the  (a) total and  (b) average personal debt in (i) rural areas and (ii) non-rural areas was in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the average personal  (a) unsecured debt and  (b) total debt was in (i) rural areas and (ii) non-rural areas as a percentage of income in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what the average personal  (a) unsecured debt and  (b) total debt was among those working in the agricultural sector in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 13 July 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions on personal debt in the UK. (84618, 84619, 84620)
	We are unable to provide levels of average personal debt by region or split by sector.
	The available information is shown in the following tables.
	The estimates of debt and income are national accounts series for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. Estimates for households alone are not available. NPISHs are legal entities which are principally engaged in the production of non-market services for households and whose main resources are voluntary contributions by households. Examples of NPISHs are: charities; relief and aid organisations; educational establishments; trade unions; professional associations, political parties and religious organisations, and sports clubs and associations.
	Further data are available from table A64 in United Kingdom Economic Accounts which is available at the following address:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1904 &Pos=&ColRank=l&Rank=422
	
		
			  A. Levels of debt at end of year 1997-2005 
			  £ million 
			   Total personal debt( 1)  Secured personal debt( 2)  Personal debt( 3)  Other Debt( 4) 
			 1997 586,659 429,679 88,412 68,568 
			 1998 625,134 455,901 97,404 71,829 
			 1999 675,599 492,854 109,208 73,537 
			 2000 734,790 534,066 124,323 76,401 
			 2001 810,665 590,238 140,891 79,536 
			 2002 923,144 669,390 157,748 96,006 
			 2003 1,046,913 772,931 163,506 110,476 
			 2004 1,172,032 875,852 183,390 112,790 
			 2005 1,275,740 965,515 192,905 117,320 
		
	
	
		
			  B. Average debt per head (population 16+), and as a percentage of income, at year end 1997-2005 
			   £  Percentage 
			   Average personal  Total debt( 5)  Average unsecured personal debt( 6)  Average household disposable income( 7)  Average total debt as a percentage of income( 8)  Average unsecured debt as a percentage of income( 9) 
			 1997 12,894 1943 12,307 104.8 15.8 
			 1998 13,691 2133 12,763 107.2 16.7 
			 1999 14,731 2381 13,279 110.9 17.9 
			 2000 15,937 2696 13,955 114.2 19.3 
			 2001 17,467 3036 14,787 118.1 20.5 
			 2002 19,766 3378 15,182 130.2 22.3 
			 2003 22,277 3479 15,755 141.4 22.1 
			 2004 24,766 3875 16,180 153.1 24.0 
			 2005 26,730 4042 16,781 159.3 24.1 
			 When using Table 64 of United Kingdom Economic Accounts (web link as above) the database identifiers are; (1) NNP (2 )NNRP (3) NNRG + NNRK (4) NNPP-NNRP-NNRG-NNRK (5 )NNPP/MGSL (6) (NNRG+NNRK)/MGSL (7) QWND/MGSL (8) (NNPP/MGSL)/(QWND/MGSL)*100 (9) (NNRP/MGSL)/(QWND?MGSL)*100  Note: For average per head figures, the denominator is population aged 16+ (MGSL)

Plastic Bags

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 4 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1743W, on plastic bags, if he will carry out a follow-up assessment to that carried out in December 2002 of the longer-term impact of the operation of the Irish plastic bag tax since its introduction in March 2002.

John Healey: There are no current plans to re-assess the Irish plastic bag tax.

Somalia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to include a self-identification question for Somali people in the next census.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 14 July 2006:
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what plans there are for the inclusion of a self-identification question for Somali people in the next census. (84948)
	We are currently undertaking a programme of consultation and testing on ethnicity and national identity. It will not be possible to confirm what questions are to be included in the 2011 Census until the consultation and testing programme is complete and formal approval is given by Parliament in 2010. There are currently no plans to include a tick-box for 'Somali' but people who wish to identify themselves as Somali are likely to be able to do so through a 'write in' response option. A White Paper setting out the Government's proposals is scheduled to be published in Autumn 2008.
	A report on the findings of the initial consultation exercise was published on 8 March 2006—'The 2011 Census: Assessment of initial user requirements on content for England and Wales' and can be found on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/consultations/2011Census_response.asp

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value is of tax credit overpayments written off for each quarter since 2001.

Dawn Primarolo: End of year adjustments leading to an overpayment of tax credits for 2003-04 were only finally identified after April 2004 when HMRC started finalising awards for that year and the department began considering disputed overpayments in June 2004.
	For the value of tax credits overpayments written off between June 2004 and March 2006, I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 4 July 2005,  Official Report, column 101W, 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 282W, 27 October 2005,  Official Report, column 497W, 15 November 2005,  Official Report, column 1214W, 18 April 2006,  Official Report, column 567W and 5 June 2006,  Official Report column 189W, and to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr. Goodman) on 26 January 2006,  Official Report, columns 2249W-250W.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will publish estimates of tax credit fraud and error for 2004-05; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The HMRC publication "Child and Working Tax Credits. Error and Fraud Statistics 2003-04" was published on 11 July 2006, and is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/random-enquiry.pdf

Tax Credits

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been affected by errors in administration of tax credits in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.
	For HM Revenue and Custom's performance against its accuracy targets relating to tax credits for 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06, I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 19 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1626W.

Tax Credits

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his assessment is of the sensitivity with which the tax credit computer system is used when dealing with a surviving spouse; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC's guidance for staff handling tax credits claims involving a claimant who dies can be found at:
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ntcmanual/changes_cofc/ntc0170 032.htm

Teenage Pregnancies

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many girls under the age of 16 years  (a) became pregnant and  (b) gave birth in the Ribble Valley constituency in each of the last 10 years, broken down by age.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 13 July 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many girls under the age of 16 years  (a) became pregnant and  (b) gave birth in the Kibble Valley constituency in each of the last 10 years, broken down by age. (84757)
	Numbers of conceptions in Ribble Valley county district for the years 1995-2004 are shown in the following table. Figures for 2004 are provisional.
	Information on conceptions is routinely published for local authorities and strategic health authorities. Figures cannot be provided by parliamentary constituency because of the risk of disclosing individual's information due to small differences with local authority boundaries.
	ONS does not publish figures by single year of age below the age of 16 by either local or health authority and also does not release figures for individual years because of the risk of disclosing individual's information.
	Numbers of livebirths in Ribble Valley county district for the years 1995-2004 are shown in the following table.
	The total number of births to girls aged under 16 in each year is too small to be released because of the risk of disclosing individual's information. Therefore total number of births in the 10 year period (1995-2004) is given in the following table. Figures cannot be broken down by single year of age, for the same reason.
	Birth figures cannot be provided for Ribble Valley parliamentary constituency for the same reason as provided for conceptions.
	
		
			  1995-2004( 1)  Number 
			 Conceptions 39 
			 Livebirths 7 
			 (1)Conceptions for 2004 are provisional.

Teenage Pregnancies

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many teenage pregnancies there were in  (a) Southampton,  (b) Portsmouth,  (c) Hampshire and  (d) the combined area of the three in each year since 1990; and what the teenage pregnancy rate was in each case.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 13 July 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the (a) number and (b) rate of teenage pregnancy was in (i) Southampton, (ii) Portsmouth,(iii) Hampshire and (iv) the combined area of the three in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (84342)
	Available figures are estimates of the number of pregnancies that resulted in a live birth, stillbirth or termination.
	Teenage conception numbers and rates for Southampton UA, Portsmouth UA, Hampshire County and for the combined area of the three from 1997 to 2004 (the most recent year for which figures are available) are given in the following table. Figures for 2004 are provisional.
	
		
			  Teenage conceptions: numbers and rates( 1)  for Southampton UA, Portsmouth UA and Hampshire county, 1997-2004 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004( 2) 
			  (a) Numbers 
			  (b) Rates 
			 Total 1,174 1,190 1,102 1,021 1,126 1,099 1,089 1,115 
			 Southampton UA 215 216 194 201 223 240 212 204 
			 Portsmouth UA 172 174 168 130 160 163 162 190 
			 Hampshire County 787 800 740 690 743 696 715 721 
			  
			 Total 41 41 38 35 38 37 36 36 
			 Southampton UA 61 61 57 59 66 67 58 56 
			 Portsmouth UA 59 57 54 40 48 48 46 54 
			 Hampshire County 35 36 33 31 33 30 31 30 
			 (1) Rate per 1,000 women aged 15-17. (2) Provisional.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Valuation Office Agency has spent on its automated valuation model and associated computer databases and training.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 January 2006,  Official Report, columns 268-69W. Work on maintaining the automated valuation model (AVM) and the associated computer database is ongoing. Expenditure on this, and the training undertaken, is not recorded separately by the Valuation Office Agency and cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Oral Statement of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1131-48, on Afghanistan (troop levels), if he will estimate the cost of the deployment of the additional force to Helmand Province; and whether the resources to fund the cost will be added to the Special Reserve established for the three-year Afghan deployment.

Des Browne: The deployment and equipping of additional forces to the Helmand Province is estimated at £50 million, broken down into £30 million for the deployment and £20 million for the purchase of Urgent Operational Requirements. This sum has been authorised by HM Treasury as a charge against the Special Reserve in 2006-07.

Body Armour

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps have been taken since September 2004 to modify enhanced combat body armour for those providing top cover on Snatch vehicles;
	(2)  what steps have been taken since September 2004 to modify enhanced combat body armour to provide additional protection to (a) the neck and (b) the armpit area.

Des Browne: Enhanced combat body armour (ECBA), comprises of a waistcoat cover with a para-aramid filler plus two ceramic plates. It is issued to all troops deployed on operations. The Ministry of Defence has also developed a new type of body armour to provide better protection for those undertaking Top Cover Sentry and driving duties on operations in a range of vehicles including Snatch. The Driver and Top Cover Sentry Protection Systems provide the same levels of protection as ECBA and additional protection for vulnerable areas of the upper arm and neck. In addition, a further body armour called Osprey has been developed for use by foot patrols. This also provides additional neck and armpit protection as well as other capability enhancements.
	Over the past two years, we have spent £120 million improving protection for ground forces in Iraq in response to the evolving threat from Impromised Explosive Devices.

Data Protection

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of the Data Protection Act 1998 on the ability of  (a) the Department,  (b) the Veterans Agency,  (c) veterans' organisations and charities,  (d) regimental, naval and RAF associations and  (e) the NHS effectively to co-ordinate and transfer casework; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: holding answer 13 July 2006
	The Ministry of Defence takes its responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998 very seriously, and has a network of Data Protection Officers across the Department to ensure compliance. The Act provides a framework for the protection of personal data, but it also allows the sharing of such data where the processing is necessary. This requires a balance between the legitimate interests of the Ministry of Defence or the third parties to whom the data is disclosed, and the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of individuals. Each case needs to be considered on its own merits, but it is certainly possible to share and co-ordinate personal data where it is warranted, subject to the relevant conditions set out in the Act.

Iraq

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an assessment of the morale of troops stationed in Iraq.

Des Browne: The armed forces conduct Continuous Attitude Surveys, but it is not possible to extract from that data results specific to Iraq/Operation Telic.

Joint Personnel Administration

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 711W, on Joint Personnel Administration, how many personnel were  (a) overpaid and  (b) underpaid in each month since the system was initiated; and how many of those are awaiting correction.

Tom Watson: holding answer 12 July 2006
	There have been a number of different causes of error to pay since the introduction of JPA. Some personnel have been subjected to more than one of those causes and these errors have been aggregated to indicate whether individuals were overpaid or underpaid on a given month. Of those 6,639 incorrectly paid in April, 70 per cent. were overpaid whereas 30 per cent. were underpaid. In May of those 1,175 incorrectly paid 34 per cent. were overpaid and 66 per cent. underpaid. The June figures are still being analysed for accuracy, but early indications are that of 458 incorrectly paid, 177 (40 per cent.) were overpaid and 258 underpaid.

Low-flying Activity

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what operational low-flying activity took place in the  (a) Highlands of Scotland tactical training area and  (b) south west of Scotland and the Anglo Scottish border tactical training area in each year between 1998-99 and 2004-05.

Tom Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 5 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 260-61W, and on 13 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1084W.

Oxfordshire Coroner

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings were held between  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials from his Department and the Oxfordshire coroner between 17 July 2003 and 31 January 2004.

Des Browne: No meetings were held between Ministry of Defence Ministers or officials and the Oxfordshire coroner between 17 July 2003 and 31 January 2004 in connection with Dr. Kelly. Liaison between the coroner and Government on this matter was through the Lord Chancellor's Department.

Parliamentary Questions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department were awaiting a reply on 10 July 2006; which of those had been waiting longer than  (a) two and  (b) three weeks for a reply; and what the reason for the delay was in each case.

Tom Watson: The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Punishments

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to prevent unauthorised or informal punishments of soldiers by non-commissioned officers.

Tom Watson: There are two systems to deal with minor breaches of behaviour. These are "summary dealing" using disciplinary powers under the Army Act 1955 and "administrative action" using Army General and Administrative Instruction (AGAI) 67, both of which provide a range of punishments or sanctions. These sanctions and punishments are carried out in a properly regulated manner and both systems have well established appeals procedures.
	Unauthorised or informal punishments within the Army are not lawful. Unofficial or unauthorised punishments may in themselves constitute criminal behaviour and would be investigated and dealt with accordingly. The administration of informal punishments could constitute harassment or bullying and all soldiers are made fully aware of the serious consequences of such action as well as being provided with well publicised facilities to complain.

Royal Ordnance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to make additional contributions to the Royal Ordnance pension scheme to ensure that the scheme assets are sufficient to provide member benefits accrued prior to the incorporation of Royal Ordnance plc.

Tom Watson: holding answer 11 May 2006
	I consider that sufficient funds were transferred to the Royal Ordnance pension scheme at the time of privatisation and I have no plans to make direct additional contributions to the scheme.

Royal Ordnance

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2006,  Official Report, column 1274W, on pension schemes, whether the Crown guarantee to the Royal Ordnance pension scheme referred to by the Comptroller and Auditor General in his report Ministry of Defence: Sale of Royal Ordnance plc. (HC 162, 1987/88) still applies.

Tom Watson: holding answer 11 May 2006
	The "guarantee" given at paragraph 5 of the National Audit Report (HC 162, 1987/88) was an undertaking on benefit design for (then) current employees. It was not a guarantee for future financing of the scheme.

Services Sound and Vision Corporation

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) terms of reference and  (b) codes of practice govern the relationship between his Department and (i) Services Sound and Vision Corporation and (ii) its subsidiary British Forces Broadcasting Service.

Tom Watson: holding answer 13 July 2006
	The Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC) is a private company limited by guarantee and registered charity, with which the Ministry of Defence has contracted to provide a number of services related to the entertainment and the provision of training material for British Service personnel around the world. British Forces Broadcasting (BFBS) is not a subsidiary of SSVC but the designation of some of the services operated on behalf of the MOD by SSVC and has been in use with the MOD since the early days of Service broadcasts.

Sickness Absence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 263W, on sickness absence, how many staff in his Department have had two or more periods of sick leave of less than five days in two or more of the years for which he has provided figures.

Tom Watson: There were 20,150 non-industrial staff with two or more absences of less than five days during two or more of the years reported on in my answer of 5 June 2006. Of these non-industrials, 8,430 had two or more periods of absence of less than five days during all three years reported on.
	There were 2,600 industrial staff with two or more absences of less than five days during two of the years reported on. No industrial staff had two or more periods of absence of less than five days during all three years.
	Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, Locally Engaged Civilians and Trading Fund staff are excluded from these figures.

Veterans

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to assist organisations that support veterans to work more effectively together; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: As part of the Government programme for veterans, we have put in place consultative machinery, and work strands built on joint working, that encourage effective co-operation among those who support the country's veterans. These provide opportunities for Government Departments, the devolved Administrations and ex-service organisations to exchange views and to work more effectively together to deliver the best support possible.
	The Veterans Agency has run a number of successful regional conferences on the theme of 'Reaching Out to Veterans'. These bring together delegates from a range of public and voluntary sector organisations in order to increase awareness of veterans' issues among service providers, and of the role of the Veterans Agency and ex-service charities in supporting veterans.
	MOD is also working with partners from the public, private and voluntary sector on co-operative projects in support of veterans such as Project Compass, an initiative to prevent and tackle the cycle of homelessness and unemployment among socially excluded ex-service personnel. As more generally, our aim is to encourage and facilitate joint working among ex-service charities.

War Crimes

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions  (a) he,  (b) other Ministers in his Department and  (c) senior officers and civil servants have had with the Attorney-General regarding the preferment of war crime and other charges against members of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment.

Des Browne: Ministers, senior officers and civil servants have meetings with the Attorney-General on a range of matters.
	Decisions on whether to prosecute Army personnel and, if so, what charges are to be faced is a matter for the Army Prosecuting Authority. No Ministers or MOD officials outside the Army Prosecuting Authority are involved in any way in these decisions.

War Pensioners

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that  (a) war pensioners,  (b) GPs and  (c) consultants are informed that war pensioners may receive priority treatment on the NHS.

Tom Watson: Notifications of all new and revised war pensions awards include details of the arrangements for NHS priority treatment in Great Britain. Information is also published at www.veteransagency.mod.uk. Priority treatment applies post-service to the condition or conditions for which an award is made under the war pension scheme or armed forces compensation scheme. Standing guidance on the right of GB based war pensioners to receive priority treatment in NHS hospitals is also circulated to senior managers of trusts, and health boards; they are asked to ensure that relevant clinical staff are aware of the provision.

Welfare Services

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which male models or other personalities have been used to advertise welfare services to members of the armed forces.

Tom Watson: As far as we can ascertain, the Ministry of Defence has never employed a male model to advertise welfare services to the armed forces.
	We are however, grateful to popular celebrity Nell McAndrew for giving her time to promote the confidential support line available to all members of our armed forces.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which benefits and allowances include an element for child support; and what the value of the increases awarded for each additional child is in each case.

James Plaskitt: Where appropriate, child dependency increases are paid with carer's allowance; incapacity benefit; industrial death benefit; severe disablement allowance; state retirement pension; widowed mothers allowance; widowed parents allowance; and unemployability supplement.
	The current rate of child dependency increase for all these benefits is £11.35 for each child. However, the Overlapping Benefits Regulations provide for the rate of child dependency increases to be adjusted where the increase is payable for the eldest eligible child for whom child benefit is also payable. In such cases, the weekly rate of the increase is reduced by the differential between the rate of child benefit payable for the oldest eligible child and that payable for any subsequent child.

Crisis Loans

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many crisis loans were granted in Crewe and Nantwich constituency in  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05 and  (c) 2005-06; and how many have been granted in 2006-07.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.
	
		
			  Crisis loans for Cheshire Jobcentre Plus district 
			   Number of initial awards 
			 2003-04 12,130 
			 2004-05 11,320 
			 2005-06 14,230 
			 2006-07 to 30 June 3,290 
			  Notes: 1. Data are not available by parliamentary constituency, but only by Jobcentre Plus district. 2. Crewe and Nantwich parliamentary constituency is in Cheshire and Warrington Jobcentre Plus district, which was known as Cheshire Jobcentre Plus district until 31 March 2006. 3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.

Family Benefits

Rosemary McKenna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of families in  (a) Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East and  (b) Scotland are claiming (i) child benefit and (ii) income support.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Child benefit is administered by HM Revenue and Customs, and is a matter for my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
	As at November 2005, there were 3,490 people in the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East parliamentary constituency, and 222,050 people in Scotland in receipt of income support.

Financial Inclusion

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to promote financial inclusion in  (a) Hartlepool constituency and  (b) the North East region.

James Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions is delivering the £36 million Growth Fund, which will increase the amount of affordable credit available from credit unions and community development financial institutions to financially excluded people, who might otherwise be forced to turn to doorstep lenders and loan sharks charging exorbitant rates of interest.
	The first Growth Fund contracts have already been signed with Southwark Credit Union (London) and Enterprise Credit Union (Knowsley, Liverpool) and terms have been agreed with a further 20 organisations. Negotiations continue with all others that passed the evaluation stage of the commercial process, including Hartlepool Credit Union and others from the North East.
	The move to direct payment and the introduction of universal banking services, during 2003-05, also helped to significantly increase financial inclusion through the provision of banking services to customers in many deprived areas for the first time.

Fuel Direct

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average level of Fuel Direct payment was for  (a) gas and  (b) electricity to each supplier in (i) each region of England, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Wales in the last full year for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available broken down by region; the available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Average weekly payments under the Fuel Direct scheme to gas suppliers, Great Britain; 1 June 2005 to 31 May 2006 
			  Supplier  Average payment (£) 
			 0000011814—Powergen 12.19 
			 0000013614—Npower Ltd 12.62 
			 0000013653—Npower Ltd 12.44 
			 0000020024—British Gas Trading 12.38 
			 0000020030—British Gas 13.25 
			 0000025008—EOF Energy 12.23 
			 0000025010—Environenergy Limited 13.39 
			 0000025011—Amerada (SWEB Gas) 8.60 
			 0000030006—EDF Energy 11.61 
			 0000030141—Scottish Power 11.76 
			 0000030201—Scottish and Southern Energy 11.61 
			 0000030333—SWALEC Plc 13.48 
			 0000030397—EDF Energy 12.75 
			 0000030460—Powergen 12.34 
			 0000030648—Powergen 11.92 
			 0000030725—Calor Gas Limited 12.97 
			 0000030928—EDF Energy 11.91 
			 0000031043—Flogas UK Ltd 21.43 
			 0000031099—Atlantic Electric and Gas 12.48 
			 0000031192—BP LPG UK 23.85 
		
	
	
		
			  Average weekly payments under the Fuel Direct scheme to electricity suppliers, Great Britain; 1 June 2005 to 31 May 2006 
			  Supplier  Average payment (£) 
			 0000010002—Powergen 11.56 
			 0000016001—Powergen 13.28 
			 0000016012—Powergen 14.28 
			 0000016024—EOF Energy 12.42 
			 0000016035—Npower Ltd 14.16 
			 0000016037—Npower Ltd 13.20 
			 0000016047—Scottish Power 13.59 
			 0000016052—EOF Energy 13.23 
			 0000016058—SWALEC Plc 14.07 
			 0000016062—EOF Energy 13.49 
			 0000016065—Scottish and Southern Energy 12.84 
			 0000030393—British Gas 11.96 
			 0000030903—EOF Energy 12.15 
			 0000031084—Atlantic Electric and Gas 11.56 
			 0000031289—Ecotricity 12.14 
			  Note: Some suppliers have more than one account to which payments are made for both gas and electricity, where this is the case the average for each account is shown.

Interwork

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding Interwork receives from  (a) his Department,  (b) other Government Departments,  (c) Government agencies and  (d) other sources; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: During 2005-06 Remploy allocated £18.389 million to Interwork out of the grant in aid given to the company by the Department and from contracts awarded to the company.
	Interwork also received £311,000 from the European Social Fund. Interwork received no additional funding from other Government Departments or Government agencies.

National Insurance

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of residents in each London borough issued with a new national insurance number in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available in the format requested. Information on the number of national insurance numbers issued is not available broken down below national level.

National Insurance

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) illegal immigrants and  (b) failed asylum seekers who fraudulently hold national insurance numbers.

James Plaskitt: There is no estimate of the number of national insurance numbers obtained fraudulently. However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has robust procedures and checks in place to intercept fraudulent applications for national insurance numbers.

Pensions

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what requirements the Government have placed on private businesses to contribute to a safety net for pension funds.

James Purnell: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) pays compensation to members of defined benefit schemes if their employer becomes insolvent and the pension scheme is underfunded. The PPF has also taken on responsibility for paying compensation to members of any eligible defined benefit or other defined contribution scheme where the members lose their pension due to fraud.
	The Pensions Act (2004) provides for the funding of this through levies on eligible schemes.

Post Office Card Account

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in West Lancashire collect their  (a) pensions and  (b) benefit payments via a Post Office card account.

James Plaskitt: Information showing the number of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit and pension payment accounts paid by direct payment into a Post Office card account for each parliamentary constituency has been placed in the Library.

Post Office Card Account

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1603W, on the Post Office card account, if he will place a copy of the contract in the Library.

James Plaskitt: I have already placed an abridged copy of the contract in the Library.
	I also refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Ruffley) on 7 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1354W.

Sure Start

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women have received a Sure Start maternity grant in Stroud constituency in each of the last two years.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.
	
		
			  Sure Start maternity grants for Gloucestershire Jobcentre Plus district 
			   Number of awards 
			 2004-05 1,640 
			 2005-06 1,510 
			  Notes: 1. Data are not available by parliamentary constituency but only by Jobcentre Plus district. 2. Stroud parliamentary constituency is in Gloucestershire Jobcentre Plus district in 2004-05. This district merged with another district in April 2005. The figure for 2005-06 in the table is for the area covered by the former Gloucestershire Jobcentre Plus district. 3. Figures are for all awards, irrespective of whether the award was made to the mother or her partner. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Advertising Campaigns

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advertising campaigns her Department has run since July 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

Geoff Hoon: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			   Date  Cost (£) 
			  July-December 2004   
			  Specialist Recruitment   
			 Assistant Librarian May 2004 21,794 
			 Legal Adviser October 2004 14,177 
			 Overseas Security Managers November 2004 4,950 
			 Head of Security Section December 2004 3,142 
			 Overseas Security Adviser December 2004 3,611 
			
			  Generalist recruitment   
			 Administrative Assistant Campaign May 2004 33,653 
			
			  FCO Services Recruitment   
			 IT Project Manager November 2004 15,896 
			 Architect November 2004 1,154 
			 5 Estates Maintenance Positions November 2004 24,503 
			 Interior Designers November 2004 3,640 
			 Architect December 2004 871.90 
			 Health and Safety Officer December 2004 520 
			 5 Estate Maintenance Positions December 2004 750 
			
			  General Advertising   
			 Diversity Advertising July 2004 8,854 
			
			  January-December 2005   
			  Specialist Recruitment   
			 Senior Manager Biometrics January 2005 11,822 
			 Africa Energy Adviser April 2005 7,100 
			 Science and Innovation April 2005 12,744 
			 Auditors June 2005 10,621 
			 Arabic Spokesperson July 2005 9,205 
			 HM Ambassador Holy See July 2005 23,290 
			 Director of UKVisas July 2005 9,945 
			 Director Finance September 2005 8,640 
			 Head of Science and Innovation September 2005 8,315 
			 Islamic Issues Adviser September 2005 3,012 
			 Overseas Security Managers October 2005 9,941 
			 Accountants November 2005 71,448 
			 Legal Adviser November 2005 8,109 
			
			  Generalist Recruitment   
			 Operational Officer Campaign January 2005 53,541 
			 Administrative Assistant Campaign January 2005 8,050 
			 Executive Assistant Campaign March 2005 61,951 
			 Operational Officer Campaign October 2005 66,094 
			
			  FCO Services Recruitment   
			 Head of Procurement January 2005 7,430 
			 IT Implementation/System/Application/Technology/Monitoring/Help Desk Officers February 2005 15,823 
			 Apprentice Scheme March 2005 6,218 
			 Administrative Assistants—Hanslope Park April 2005 6,218 
			 Administrative Assistants—London May 2005 6,440 
			 Quantity Surveyor May 2005 5,671 
			 Arabic Lecturer and Flexible Lecturer Posts May 2005 3,105 
			 French and Spanish Translators May 2005 3,350 
			 Health, Safety and Environmental Officer July 2005 2,577 
			 Nursery Nurse July 2005 694 
			 Senior Project Managers September 2005 23,470 
			 IT Help Desk Officers September 2005 24,992 
			 Finance Manager September 2005 5,202 
			 Building and Civil Engineers October 2005 15,297 
			 Electrical Technician October 2005 2,125 
			 Locksmith October 2005 735 
			 Despatch, Goods In and Mailroom Assistant November 2005 1,509 
			
			  Consular Recruitment   
			 Forced Marriage Caseworker October 2005 4,239 
			 Legal Councillor December 2005 10,190 
			 Social Worker January 2005 5,349 
			
			  Generalist Advertising   
			 Diversity Advertising 2005 56,744 
			
			  January 2006   
			  Specialist Recruitment   
			 Africa Research Analyst February 2006 1,249 
			 Assistant Director, Diversity and Equality March 2006 15,605 
			 Assistant Legal Adviser Mar 2006 8,762 
			 Head of Polar Regions Unit May 2006 25,104 
			 Research and Evaluation Officer May 2006 6,110 
			 Web Editor June 2006 8,820 
			
			  Generalist Recruitment   
			 Executive Assistant Campaign January 2006 64,982 
			 Administrative Assistant Campaign May 2006 16,591 
			
			  FCO Services Recruitment   
			 Field Investigating Officer January 2006 10,532 
			 Electrical Technician January 2006 5,871 
			 Finance Group Positions January 2006 11,294 
			 Human Resources Adviser to Information and Communications Technology Group February 2006 4,907 
			 Finance Position April 2006 10,437 
			 Head of Logistics April 2006 1,949 
			 IT Help Desk Officers April 2006 11,923 
			 Head of Logistics April 2006 4,900 
			 Executive Administrators April 2006 7,017 
			 Nursery Nurse May 2006 2,270 
			 Electrical Technician May 2006 14,139 
			 Technical Apprenticeships May 2006 8,946 
			 Electrical Tech/Carpenter/Joiner May 2006 10,636 
			 IT Project Manager June 2006 19,703 
			 Maintenance and Electrical Engineers June 2006 3,791 
			 Architect and Construction Project Manager June 2006 6,734 
			
			  Consular Recruitment   
			 Police Adviser February 2006 3,290 
			 Alicante Head of Post May 2006 3,216 
			
			  General Advertising   
			 Diversity Advertising 2006 14,953 
		
	
	Information on advertisement costs incurred by overseas posts and non-departmental public bodies could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Afghanistan

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action is being taken to curb opium production in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The UK is Afghanistan's partner nation on counter-narcotics. We are spending over £270 million over three years in support of the Afghan National Drug Control Strategy. We believe the strategy represents the best means of tackling opium production and trafficking in and from Afghanistan and are working with the Afghans to sharpen delivery on the ground. I also refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement I made on Afghanistan: Counter Narcotics, 13 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 75-76WS, which includes details on progress made to date as well as the allocation of UK funding.

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what quantity of opium has been seized by the Afghan Special Narcotics Force since May 2005; and what the procedure is for the disposal of opium.

Kim Howells: According to the Ministry of the Interior of Afghanistan, the Afghan Special Narcotics Force and the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan, since May 2005, have made seizures of opiates (opium, heroin and morphine base) equivalent to 186.6 metric tonnes of opium.
	In accordance with the new Afghan Counter Narcotics Law post seizure the opiates are either destroyed at site, while retaining a small sample for evidential purposes for use in criminal proceedings, or stored and destroyed centrally.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with her German counterpart on ensuring that adequate vetting procedures are in place to ensure that the Afghan police are not infiltrated by the Taliban.

Kim Howells: The Afghanistan Compact, which was launched at the London Conference in January 2006, sets out benchmarks and timelines for the next phase in Afghanistan's reconstruction process. This includes the establishment of clear and transparent national appointments mechanisms for the public sector, including vetting procedures. Implementation will be phased over five years.
	I have not had recent discussions with my German counterpart on this subject but our Embassy in Kabul is in close touch with the German-led Police Project Office about the police reform process.

Africa (Peacekeeping Capability)

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contributions the UK plans to make to strengthen African peacekeeping capability following the meeting of G8 officials and donor parties in Moscow on 8 June; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The UK remains strongly committed to supporting the African Union's (AU) goal of enhancing African peacekeeping capacity and establishing an African Standby Force (ASF). The meeting of G8 officials and other donors on 8 June was an operational level meeting to review latest progress and further improve co-ordination of peace support operations (PSO) assistance initiatives to the AU and its member states.
	The UK provides significant levels of PSO training to African national forces geared to both preparation for specific deployments and to building longer-term capacity and skills. UK support, both financial and through the provision of military training staff, to African training centres of excellence such as the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre is also helping to strengthen African regional training—an area of growing importance as the ASF regional brigades are officially formed. In collaboration with other international partners, the UK is providing technical and financial assistance to the AU's Peace and Security Department through a series of workshops in 2006 to design policy and procedure for the ASF. UK financial support for PSO capacity building projects in Africa between 2001 and 2005 has been steadily increasing and was over £24 million in 2004-05.

British Passport Holders

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Clegg) of 15 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 1373-5W, on British passport holders, how many British passport holders are estimated to be registered at their local British representative mission.

Kim Howells: We do not maintain a central list of British passport holders who have registered at our overseas missions. It is not compulsory to register and the numbers who do so are very low. We will shortly have available an updated online facility to allow British nationals to register electronically. We hope this will increase the number of people registering.

Bulgaria/Romania

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's plans are regarding the freedom of movement of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens into the UK upon their accession to the European Union, with particular reference to the Roma population.

Geoff Hoon: Upon accession, all citizens from Bulgaria and Romania will enjoy the same freedom of movement within the EU, including the UK, as citizens of the other 25 member states. We do not discriminate on the basis of ethnic origin.

China

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consular provision there is for British nationals in Taiwan province of the People's Republic of China.

Kim Howells: The Government do not recognise Taiwan as a state. We do not carry out any formal consular activities in Taiwan. However, the British Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei, within the limitations of its status, provides assistance to British nationals in line with the recently published "Support for British Nationals Abroad: A Guide", copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

Colombia

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Colombian Government on threats by paramilitary organisations to kill students and staff at the University of Antioquia.

Geoff Hoon: Human rights are at the heart of our policy towards Colombia. We remain concerned about the situation faced by civil society there. Although we have not made any specific representations to the Colombian Government on this issue, we keep the human rights situation in the country under constant review and frequently raise individual cases with the Government of Colombia. We also support a range of projects aimed at improving human rights in line with the spirit of UN human rights recommendations. Among our current priorities are the protection and promotion of human rights defenders, the protection of child rights and improvements in the rule of law. We will continue to engage with the Government of Colombia on human rights issues.

Colombia

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Colombian Government on the confrontation and dismantling of paramilitary groups.

Geoff Hoon: There have not been any recent discussions at Ministerial level on this issue, although we regularly raise it with our Colombian counterparts at official level. The UK and the EU have consistently called for a legal framework for the process of demobilisation, disarmament and reinsertion of illegal armed groups. In the EU Ministerial General Affairs and External Relations Council Conclusions of 3 October 2005, the UK and its EU partners recognised the importance of the Colombian Justice and Peace Law, agreed in July the same year, in providing an overall legal framework for this process. With our international partners, the UK has encouraged the Government of Colombia to implement this new law transparently so that it will have a positive impact on the peace building process. The Colombian Government announced on 18 April the completion of the formal process of demobilisation which saw over 30,000 paramilitaries demobilise. We will continue to work with our partners to help the Government of Colombia address the challenges it faces.

Colombia

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations have been made by the UK Government to the Government of Colombia about trade union rights.

Geoff Hoon: We remain very concerned about the human rights situation faced by civil society, including trade unionists, in Colombia. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, raised the issue of engaging with civil society with Colombian Defence Minister-designate Juan Manuel Santos when they met on 5 July with Colombian Foreign Minister Carolina Barco in the fringes of the EU/Latin America and the Caribbean summit on 12 May. In April, our embassy staff in Bogota met with the Vice President of the National Union of Hospital and Health Workers, and with the Human Rights Director of the Central Union of Workers in May. We also regularly meet British and Colombian trade unionists and other civil society groups, in the UK and Colombia, to hear their views and discuss how the Government can best support them. My noble Friend Lord Triesman met a British trade union delegation on 6 March to discuss their recent visit to Colombia and hear their concerns about human rights. In February, we also funded a working visit to the UK by eight senior Colombian trade unionists to demonstrate our support to civil society in Colombia and the important role it has to play in helping find solutions.

Departmental Resource Accounts

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2006,  Official Report, column 298W, on departmental resource accounts, what the items listed were; and what the reason was for the need for their disposal.

Geoff Hoon: As my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Mr. Straw) said in his reply to the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning) on 27 February 2006,  Official Report, column 298W, these were items which were identified as having been disposed of, but action had not been taken to remove them from the asset register. The assets were disposed of or consumed in the ordinary course of business. The disposal value was made up of a large number of assets with relatively minor values and the disposal of these items did not occur as a single event. Due to the large number of items that have been disposed of, it is not possible to list them all in this reply. However, a copy of the full list will be placed in the Library of the House. I will also arrange for the list to be sent to the hon. Member.

European Constitution

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning) of 20 October 2005,  Official Report, column 1204W, on the European constitution, which themes and regions have been identified as areas of common foreign and security policy activity for which strategic interests and objectives have yet to be ascribed.

Geoff Hoon: We understand that the question refers to EU common strategies. As my right hon. Friend the then Minister for Europe (Mr. Alexander) stated in his answer to the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning) on 20 October 2005,  Official Report, column 1204W, there have only been three examples of EU common strategies, under the umbrella of Common Foreign and Security Policy: Russia, Ukraine and Euromed.

Extraordinary Rendition

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of reports that Prestwick, Shannon and Bangor airports were used for the refuelling of flights involved in either the inbound or outbound stages of extraordinary rendition operations.

Margaret Beckett: Bangor and Shannon airports, which are mentioned in the report into the extraordinary rendition of terrorist suspects published on 7 June by the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, are of course in the United States and the Republic of Ireland respectively. The Government are not therefore in a position to assess those claims. In so far as the claims about Prestwick airport are concerned, there is no evidence that any of the flights identified in the data supplied by Eurocontrol to the Council of Europe's inquiry were involved in rendition through the UK. I refer the right hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary's (Mr. Straw) written ministerial statement of 20 January 2006,  Official Report, columns 37-38WS which summarises the position in respect of renditions through UK territory or airspace since May 1997.

Honours

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which individuals who are not UK citizens were awarded honours between 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2002; and what the  (a) date of announcement,  (b) honour concerned and  (c) reason for the award was in each case.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 10 July 2006
	As the information requested is lengthy, I will arrange for it to be placed in the Library of the House and will also arrange for a copy to be sent directly to the hon. Member.
	As honorary awards to citizens of countries where Her Majesty the Queen is not Head of State are not formally announced, the date of the Queen's formal approval of such awards has been given.

Hospitality Expenses

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 838W, on hospitality expenses, what the total cost across Whitehall was of expenditure on alcohol recorded by Government Hospitality in each of the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: Government Hospitality recorded the following expenditure on new stock for the Government cellar for the past five years:
	
		
			   Expenditure () 
			 2001-02 92,772 
			 2002-03 91,860 
			 2003-04 93,503 
			 2004-05 60,059 
			 2005-06 95,264

Latin America (Trade Unions)

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on trade union rights in Latin American countries.

Geoff Hoon: In view of continuing social and economic inequality, and the impact of globalisation on labour markets in Latin American countries, trade unions have a key role in protecting employment rights throughout the region. However, the extent to which unions are effective in influencing the economic and social debate, and in achieving the objectives of their members, varies hugely from country to country due to a wide range of social and political circumstances. This Government fully support the rights of trade unions world-wide. We have played a leading role in ensuring that the international framework to promote international labour rights, and to tackle abuses of those rights throughout the world, is in place, particularly through our work with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the UN specialised agency responsible for developing, promoting and monitoring labour standards. The ILO's 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work commits all countries to respect, promote and to realise the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining as well as the ending of forced labour, child labour and discrimination in employment.

MI6

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the work of the Information Operations section of MI6; and what policy applies to the undertaking of operations within the UK.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 10 July 2006
	It is the long-standing policy of the Government not to comment on intelligence matters.
	The policy applying to any operation undertaken by the Secret Intelligence Service is governed by the provisions of the Intelligence Services Act (1994).

North Korea

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the nuclear missile tests undertaken by North Korea; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: On 4 and 5 July, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted a series of missile launches. These included No-Dong ballistic missiles and a Taepodong II missile; the latter was the first test of this system and failed some 40 seconds after launch.
	While it is possible that both No-Dong and Taepodong II missiles, correctly configured, may have the capability to carry a nuclear warhead over a long distance, we have no indication the DPRK has ever attempted to test any missile with a nuclear warhead.
	Nevertheless, we are seriously concerned that the DPRK decided to go ahead with these missile launches, despite international pressure on it not to. These tests are provocative and only serve to raise tensions in the region. Following the launches, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made a statement condemning them and strongly urged the Government of the DPRK to adhere to its commitment to a moratorium on missile testing.

Romania

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the human rights situation in Romania.

Geoff Hoon: Romania has made strides in improving its human rights situation since the fall of Ceausescu in 1989. The prospect of EU membership has been a vital driver for human rights reform. Some concerns remain, such as the treatment of Roma, conditions in mental health institutions, discrimination and intolerance experienced by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and the number of children in institutional care. Further details, including Global Opportunities Fund projects to assist Romania in its efforts, can be found in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Annual Report which is available on our website:
	www.fco.gov.uk/Files/KFile/Chapter3,1.pdf.

Sickness Absence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 24 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1866W, on sickness absence, how many staff in her Department have had two or more periods of sick leave of less than five days in two or more of the years for which she has provided figures.

Geoff Hoon: 789 staff have had two or more periods of sick leave of less than five days within two or more of the Financial Years reported: 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Szeklerland

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the UK Government has had in the last 12 months with the  (a) Hungarian and  (b) Romanian Governments regarding the state of Szeklerland.

Geoff Hoon: The Government have had no discussions in the last 12 months on this issue with the Hungarian or Romanian Governments.

Szeklerland

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the status of Szeklerland has been a part of discussions regarding the accession of Romania to the EU.

Geoff Hoon: The status of Szeklerland has not been part of discussions regarding Romania's EU accession. However, the Romanian Government are aware that it needs to continue to satisfy the Copenhagen Criteria, which guarantee respect for and protection of minorities such as the ethnic Hungarian minority in Szeklerland.

HEALTH

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were notified as being carried out in England in each year since 1996 on women whose normal place of residence was  (a) France,  (b) Germany,  (c) Italy,  (d) Ireland,  (e) Spain,  (f) Israel,  (g) Malta,  (h) Isle of Man and  (i) the United States of America.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the table. It is also available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Statistics/StatisticalWorkAreas/StatisticalPublic Health /fs/en for 2002-05 data and at: www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp%3Fvlnk%3D68%26Pos% 3D2% 26ColRank%3D2%26Rank%3D640 for 1996 to 2001 data.
	
		
			  Number of abortions to non residents of selected countries, 1996 to 2005 
			  Country of residence  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 France 1,073 887 435 332 299 199 176 109 53 38 
			 Germany 56 74 71 67 48 33 46 25 16 19 
			 Italy 427 433 395 394 416 389 302 294 266 232 
			 Irish Republic 4,894 5,340 5,891 6,226 6,391 6,673 6,522 6,320 6,217 5,585 
			 Northern Ireland 1,573 1,572 1,581 1,430 1,528 1,577 1,391 1,318 1,280 1,164 
			 Spain 66 52 39 32 32 17 35 36 33 27 
			 Israel (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) 
			 Malta 61 64 59 49 67 57 69 47 67 54 
			 Isle of Man 160 174 133 180 177 139 170 134 152 161 
			 USA 22 19 17 19 29 35 21 20 18 26 
			 (1) Less than 10

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the abortion rate was per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49 years in each health authority in England and Wales in 2005.

Caroline Flint: This information is contained within table 10b of the Statistical Bulletin 2006/01, Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2005. Copies have been placed in the Library and also on the Department of Health website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/68/59/04136859.pdf

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department  (a) has undertaken and  (b) plans to undertake into the reasons for trends in the abortion rate in England between 2004 and 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 21 March 2006,  Official Report, column 250W.
	The 2005 abortion statistics showed the abortion rate per 1,000 resident women aged 15 to 44 and the under 18 and under 16 abortion rates stayed the same as in 2004. In addition, more abortions were performed at an earlier gestation and there were less late abortions. The Statistical Bulletin 2006/01, Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2005 is available in the Library and also on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov. uk/assetRoot/04/13/68/59/04136859.pdf

Accident and Emergency Departments

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which accident and emergency departments have  (a) closed and  (b) been downgraded in each of the last three years.

Rosie Winterton: National health service trusts self-report the number of accident and emergency (A and E) services they provide against definitions set by the Department for the three types of A and E. This is not collected at the level of individual hospitals. A number of trusts reported a change in the number of type one (major) A and E departments for the period requested and this information is shown in the table. This was the position at the end of March for each year.
	
		
			   Type one A and E department closed/downgraded 
			 2003-04 United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust 
			 2004-05 East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust 
			 2005-06 North Bristol NHS Trust Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Trust 
			  Notes: As at end March of the relevant year. If a NHS trust closes/downgrades a type one A and E department and opens another type one A and E department within the same period, our data would not be able to show this. We cannot provide a further breakdown of whether the department was closed or downgraded from a type one A and E department. Northumbria Health Care NHS Trust opened a new type one A and E department during 2003-04.  Source:  Department of Health dataset, QMAE

Acute Hospital Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has advised NHS trusts that proposed solutions for reconfiguring acute hospital services should be tested in trials before they are introduced.

Andy Burnham: The Department's advice on service reconfiguration is set out in the 2003 publication, Keeping the NHS Locala New Direction of Travel, and subsequent policy advice such as a recent letter to the national health service advising that proposals for service reconfiguration must have rigorous business cases with integration and benefits plans and clear accountability to drive quality and financial improvements within the NHS.

Alcohol Misuse (Funding)

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the allocation of 15 million for tackling alcohol misuse is planned to be repeated in future years.

Caroline Flint: The 15 million allocated to primary care trusts to improve alcohol services is a recurrent revenue allocation for 2007-08 onwards.

Alcohol Misuse (Funding)

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the 15 million funding for treatment of alcohol misuse in 2007-08 will be allocated.

Caroline Flint: 15 million has been allocated to all primary care trusts (PCTs) on a weighted capitation basis to improve alcohol services from 2007-08 onwards. The Department announced 2007-08 revenue allocations to PCTs in February 2005.

Avian Influenza

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps she has taken to prepare for a potential outbreak of avian influenza.

Caroline Flint: The Department, in collaboration with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has well-developed plans in place for the protection of public health in the event of an outbreak of avian influenza.
	DEFRA has published its exotic diseases contingency plan which contains the guidance on public health protection in an outbreak for workers and others who might be exposed to infected birds. This is available on DEFRA's website: www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/avianinfluenza-contplan.htm.
	DEFRA also publishes and regularly updates risk assessments on the threat to UK of introduction of H5N1 from birds and its latest publication, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 situation in Europe and potential risk factors for the introduction of the virus to the United Kingdom, can be found at: www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/ai/latest-situation/index.htm
	The Department recently commissioned a report from the HPA: Addressing a Quantitative Microbiological Risk Assessment (QMRA) of the Risks Posed to UK Public Health by Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5NL.
	The Department and DEFRA have published guidance on the handling and disposing of dead garden and wild birds.
	Supplies of the anti-viral Tamiflu have been made available in each region for rapid administration to those who may be exposed to infection.
	Advice for clinicians on how to deal with patients who may have been infected with avian influenza is available on the HPA's website: www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/influenza/avian/guidelines.htm
	Advice for travellers on reducing their risk of exposure to minimise risk of bringing back infection has been published on the Department's website. Regular travel updates concerning affected countries is available at: www.nathnac.org/.

Breast Cancer

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the proportion of annual NHS expenditure on  (a) breast cancer drugs and  (b) all cancer drugs which will be required to fund the provision of Herceptin as set out in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's Final Appraisal Determination; and what estimate she has made of the cost to the NHS of providing Herceptin in each of the next three financial years.

Andy Burnham: For the year ending September 2005 approximately 630 million was spent on cancer drugs prescribed in hospitals and in the community. We can not provide an estimate of the expenditure on drugs used in the treatment of breast cancer since some of the drugs can be used for a variety of cancers. The data held give no indication of why a drug has been prescribed so the cost of breast cancer drugs cannot be estimated reliably.
	The cost of providing Herceptin, for a 12 month course, to all patients with early stage breast cancer for whom it is clinically appropriate is estimated at around 100 million a year. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will be publishing, as part of its guidance on Herceptin, a cost impact report to help the national health service manage the implementation of the guidance.

Breast Cancer

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which hospital trusts  (a) provide family history clinics offering screening to women with a high risk of breast cancer and  (b) have withdrawn such clinics in the last two years;
	(2)  how many primary care trusts (PCTs) commission family history clinics offering screening to women at high risk from breast cancer; and which PCTs have withdrawn the commission of these services in the last two years.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not hold information centrally on specific clinics offered by individual trusts or funded by individual primary care trusts (PCTs). The provision of services is a matter for agreement between trusts and their commissioning PCTs and the strategic health authority for the area, in consultation with local stakeholders. Plans for services should take into consideration local needs and priorities while ensuring they meet core national standards for the delivery of health services.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on familial breast cancer in May 2004. They recommended that appropriate facilities should be developed locally to meet the needs of women at risk of familial breast cancer and that women at moderate risk or greater should receive annual mammography from age 40. NICE clinical guidelines are covered by the Department's developmental standards, standards which the national health service is expected to achieve over time. The Healthcare Commission has responsibility for assessing progress towards achieving these standards.

Breast Cancer

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average interval was between screenings for breast cancer in  (a) Guildford and Waverley Primary Care Trust,  (b) Surrey and  (c) England in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The average intervals between screenings for breast cancer by local screening units is not collected centrally. However, national health service cancer screening programmes requested data from the NHS breast screening programme on the percentage of local screening units achieving the 36-month national standard between screens for quarter four 2005-06, that is from January to March 2006.
	Between January and March 2006, the Jarvis Centre, Guildford, re-screened 92 per cent. of women within the 36-month national standard. 97 per cent. of women were re-screened within 38 months.
	In England during the same period, 60 per cent. of women were re-screened within the 36-month national standard. 82 per cent. of women were re-screened within 38 months.
	The NHS Cancer Plan, published in 2000, stated that we would extend invitations for breast screening to women aged 65 to 70 and introduce two-view mammography at all screening rounds. Thanks to the efforts of the staff in the screening programme, these targets have now been achieved in all local breast screening units. The expansion is already showing an effect, with nearly 12,000 cancers diagnosed by the programme in 2004-05, an increase of 40 per cent. on 2001 when the expansion began.
	However, the changes together represent a 40 per cent. increase in the workload of the programme. We are aware that this has had an impact on some services maintaining the three-year interval for screening and we are taking steps to bring all screening intervals back to three years.
	The Department's cancer programme board, chaired by the National Cancer Director Professor Mike Richards, has taken a particular interest in this area. The board is considering a course of action with the support of the Department's recovery and support unit.

Cancer Patients

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what programmes are in place to assist cancer patients with the financial effects of their illness; and if she will take further steps to lessen such effects.

Rosie Winterton: Financial assistance is available to patients through the hospital travel costs scheme and the national health service low income scheme. Patients with cancer, as with any serious illness, may also be eligible for benefits support from the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The Government recognise that finance is an issue of great importance to people with serious illness. Departmental officials are working with those in the Department for Work and Pensions, which has the expertise and knowledge to inform people about arrangements for claiming benefits and their entitlement to different benefits, to take steps for patients to be signposted to the assistance that is available.

Carers

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many  (a) carers of people with a learning disability,  (b) children with a learning disability and  (c) adults with a learning disability in Lancashire receive a short break service;
	(2)  how many hours short break service, on average, were provided on behalf of people with a learning disability in Lancashire who received the care component of disability living allowance at the  (a) highest,  (b) middle and  (c) lowest rate in the last period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how much was spent on short break provision in Lancashire in the last year for which figures are available; and how many hours break this provided in total.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of local commissioners to ensure appropriate provision of services to meet their community's needs.

Cervical Cancer

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of women attended cervical cancer screening in  (a) Guildford,  (b) Guildford and Waverley Primary Care Trust,  (c) Surrey and  (d) England in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The available requested information is in the table. Data are not held centrally for Guildford alone or for Surrey alone. Data on the other countries of the United Kingdom are a matter for the devolved administrations.
	
		
			   Guildford and Waverley primary care trust (PCT)  Surrey and Sussex strategic health authority (SHA)  England 
			   Eligible population (thousand)  Coverage (percentage less than 5 years since last adequate test)  Eligible population (thousand)  Coverage (percentage less than 5 years since last adequate test)  Eligible population (thousand)  Coverage (percentage less than 5 years since last adequate test) 
			 2002-03 61.2 84.0 651.2 83.8 12,686.4 81.6 
			 2003-04 60.5 82.2 645.0 82.3 12,714.8 80.6 
			 2004-05 60.5 82.0 645.0 81.8 12,714.8 80.3 
			  Notes: Prior to 2002-03 Guildford and Waverley PCT and Surrey and Sussex SHA were not in existence. Coverage in England was 81.6 per cent. in 2001-02 and 83 per cent. in 2000-01  Source:  Statistical Bulletin: Cervical Screening Programme, England: 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05

Connecting for Health

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what elements have changed from being funded by Connecting for Health to being funded by departmental central budgets since the inception of Connecting for Health;
	(2)  how much funding was moved from the Connecting for Health budget to the departmental central budgets in 2005-06 to pay for the choose and book appointments line.

Caroline Flint: None in both cases. However, in 2005-06 NHS Connecting for Health funded a proportion of the cost of running the choose and book management service, which is otherwise funded from the Department's central budgets. The sum involved was 1.57 million.

Dentistry

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect on  (a) the throughput of and  (b) access to NHS dentistry of the implementation of the new dental contact and agreement on 1 April; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Management information indicates that, as at 1 April 2006, primary care trusts (PCTs) had commissioned services representing around 96 per cent. of previous levels and had begun steps to commission additional services, both to replace the small minority of contracts rejected and to expand service provision.
	The recent reforms are designed to support PCTs in improving access to services in a number of ways. First, the resources now devolved to PCTs represent a 400 million increase in investment compared with 2003-04. Second, when a dentist chooses to stop providing national health service services locally, the money spent on these services now remains with the local PCT so that it is spent on commissioning new services from other dentists to replace lost capacity. Third, the new contractual arrangements are based on the expert clinical guidelines produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical excellence. These recommend that dentists recall patients at intervals of between three and 24 months depending on their oral health needs. In our view, this is likely to mean that many patients with good oral health who have traditionally attended at typically six-monthly intervals will not need to attend as frequently as they have done in the past. This will free up additional capacity and enable dentists to treat a greater range of patients.

Dentistry

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of the new dental contracts on the provision of domiciliary dental care and the provision of dental care to people living in care homes.

Rosie Winterton: The funding devolved to primary care trusts (PCTs) for commissioning primary dental care services from April 2006 built on all such expenditure during the reference period of October 2004 to September 2005, including expenditure on domiciliary services. The new arrangements give PCTs greater flexibility to commission and develop domiciliary dental services and other primary care services to reflect local needs.

Dentistry

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) dental practices and  (b) dentists have opted out of the NHS in the last 12 months, broken down by London borough.

Rosie Winterton: Data on the number of general dental services (GDS) or personal dental services (PDS) practices that have left the national health service are not collected centrally. However, the number of practice addresses at the end of each year is known.
	The number of GDS or PDS dental practices by London borough is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS): Number of GDS or PDS dental practice addresses by London borough as at 31 March each year 
			  London borough  2005  2006 
			 City of London 4 5 
			 Barking and Dagenham 20 21 
			 Barnet 88 91 
			 Bexley 36 35 
			 Brent 67 65 
			 Bromley 57 59 
			 Camden 60 62 
			 Croydon 63 63 
			 Ealing 56 57 
			 Enfield 52 53 
			 Greenwich 39 40 
			 Hackney 33 34 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 43 43 
			 Haringey 53 53 
			 Harrow 54 54 
			 Havering 38 38 
			 Hillingdon 42 43 
			 Hounslow 50 51 
			 Islington 32 32 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 33 34 
			 Kingston upon Thames 30 32 
			 Lambeth 46 49 
			 Lewisham 37 40 
			 Merton 37 37 
			 Newham 34 33 
			 Redbridge 52 52 
			 Richmond upon Thames 49 50 
			 Southwark 38 38 
			 Sutton 41 42 
			 Tower Hamlets 31 34 
			 Waltham Forest 34 36 
			 Wandsworth 61 59 
			 Westminster 78 73

Dentistry

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) general dental services contracts and  (b) personal dental services contracts signed by or on 1 April on an in dispute basis remain in dispute, broken down by strategic health authority (SHA) area; and what proportion of the total contracts signed in each SHA area this represents.

Rosie Winterton: Provisional management estimates on the number of contracts signed in dispute and the proportion of the total contracts signed that this represents by strategic health authority is shown in the table. A contract may be for either a practice or an individual dentist. These estimates were made in April.
	Further management information on the position at the end of May will be available shortly.
	
		
			  Strategic health authority  Number of contracts signed in dispute  Proportion of contracts signed in dispute to all contracts signed (percentage) 
			 England 2,884 34.4 
			
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 111 33.2 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 162 50.0 
			 Birmingham and the Black County 177 44.6 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 88 23.9 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 33 21.2 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 65 20.3 
			 Dorset and Somerset 43 18.9 
			 Essex 77 31.7 
			 Greater Manchester 232 48.0 
			 Hampshire and the Isle of Wight 84 30.2 
			 Kent and Medway 106 41.9 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Rutland 118 45.7 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 88 24.6 
			 North Central London 122 46.0 
			 North East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire 30 14.2 
			 North East London 99 42.1 
			 North West London 87 22.7 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 44 22.1 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 163 40.9 
			 South East London 123 50.2 
			 South West London 57 22.7 
			 South West Peninsula 52 19.3 
			 South Yorkshire 122 62.2 
			 Surrey and Sussex 134 26.6 
			 Thames Valley 129 35.5 
			 Trent 113 33.5 
			 West Midlands, South 73 32.6 
			 West Yorkshire 152 51.2

Dentistry

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 April 2006,  Official Report, column 209W and the answer to question 81211, on NHS dentistry, why information on the number of people registered with an NHS dentist in each constituency available on 29 June was not collected.

Rosie Winterton: Patient registration was part of the remuneration arrangements under the former system of general dental services up to 31 March 2006. Under the new system, the concept of registration no longer forms part of the remuneration system. The Department is therefore introducing a comparable means of monitoring the number of patients covered by national health service dental services, but the transition to the new arrangements has meant that it will be some months before the new measure is available.
	As set out in the answer to question 81211 information will be available in due course via the NHS Business Services Authority on the numbers of patients who receive care or treatment from NHS primary care dentists on one or more occasions within a given period. This will provide a measure that is broadly similar to that of patient registration under the former system of CDS. We expect the first information to be available in the autumn.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many dentists who signed the new NHS dental contract who are  (a) in dispute and  (b) not in dispute had (i) withdrawn and (ii) given notice of their intention to withdraw from the contract by 1 July;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of dentists who signed the new NHS dental contract in dispute remained in dispute on 1 July.

Rosie Winterton: There is no centrally available information on the number of dentists who have withdrawn from national health service dental contracts or given notice of their intention to withdraw.
	Provisional management information on the number of contracts signed in dispute and the proportion of the total contracts signed that this represents by strategic health authority (SHA) is shown in the table. A contract may be for either a practice or an individual dentist. These estimates were made in April.
	Primary care trusts are working with dentists to resolve as many disputes as possible locally.
	
		
			  SHA  Number of contracts signed in dispute  Proportion of contracts signed in dispute to all contracts signed (Percentage) 
			 England 2,884 34.4 
			
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 111 33 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 162 50.0 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 177 44.6 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 88 23.9 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 33 21.2 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 65 20.3 
			 Dorset and Somerset 43 18.9 
			 Essex 77 31.7 
			 Greater Manchester 232 48.0 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 84 30.2 
			 Kent and Medway 106 41.9 
			 Leicestershire, Northants and Rutland 118 45.7 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 88 24.6 
			 North Central London 122 46.0 
			 North East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire 30 14.2 
			 North East London 99 42.1 
			 North West London 87 22.7 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 44 22.1 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 163 40.9 
			 South East London 123 50.2 
			 South West London 57 22.7 
			 South West Peninsula 52 19.3 
			 South Yorkshire 122 62.2 
			 Surrey and Sussex 134 26.6 
			 Thames Valley 129 35.5 
			 Trent 113 33.5 
			 West Midlands South 73 32.6 
			 West Yorkshire 152 51.2

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists had completed  (a) 100 per cent.  (b) 75 per cent. and  (c) 50 per cent. of their allocated annual units of dental activity on 1 July.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of NHS paying patients treated were under the new NHS dental contract in each of the three payment bands on 1 July.

Rosie Winterton: The latest available data are from 1 April to 31 May 2006. The following table sets out the percentage of completed national health service treatments in England within each of the bands processed during the period 1 April 2006 to 31 May 2006.
	
		
			  Payment band  Percentage of NHS treatments 
			 Band 1 60 
			 Band 2 29 
			 Band 3 3 
			 Urgent 6 
			 Prescription issue (free) 2 
			  Notes: 1. Data shown are from activity forms processed in April and May 2006. 2. Activity forms are processed by the NHS Business Services Authority within a monthly scheduling programme. The data represent activity entered onto the system between these dates and do not represent treatment actually carried out during the period. 3. Complicated courses of treatment take longer to complete. The reported activity for the early months of the new contract is therefore more heavily weighted towards simpler treatments. 4. All data are provided by The Information Centre for health and social care.  Source:  NHS Business Services Authority

Dentistry

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why items prescribed under band 3 will be grouped together as band 3 prescriptions and not measured as individual items under the new NHS contract for dentists.

Rosie Winterton: Providers of general dental service and personal dental services are no longer paid by item of service but have an agreed annual contract value, which is paid in 12 monthly instalments. In return for this contract value, the provider carries out over the course of the year an agreed number of units of dental activity that correspond to overall courses of treatment. The provider therefore no longer has to submit data on the individual items of service within each course of treatment. Any items prescribed within a course of treatment are a matter for individual clinical judgment. This approach is intended to help promote more clinically appropriate practice, with less emphasis on the quality of individual interventions and more time available for preventative care.

Diabetes

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that there are adequate numbers of diabetes nurses in West Lancashire.

Rosie Winterton: The National Service Framework for Diabetes: Delivery Strategy states that diabetes services need to ensure that there are enough staff with appropriate skills who are well-led, supported, and deliver high-quality care. It is up to local diabetes teams to decide, based on the needs of their local population, how best these teams are constructed to provide local services for both adults and children.

Diabetes

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diabetes nurses are employed by West Lancashire Primary Care Trust.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally.

District General Hospitals

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been carried out by  (a) the Department and  (b) the NHS into the minimum population required to sustain a full district general hospital, including accident and emergency facilities.

Rosie Winterton: Each district general hospital will serve a uniquely different population, both in terms of underlying health need and in terms of the population's capacity to access services. The hospital infrastructure required to support London versus rural Cornwall will be very different. The Department has not sought to prescribe or recommend minimum population sizes for hospitals.

Domiciliary Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in  (a) England and  (b) each region (i) met and (ii) did not meet the required standard at each stage in the registration of domiciliary care providers in the last year for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: I understand from the Chair the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that the information is not available in the precise form requested. The number of domiciliary care agencies (DCAs) registered with CSCI in the year 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 are shown in table 1.
	As DCAs go through each stage of the registration process, CSCI considers whether they meet regulatory requirements. In terms of DCAs which have been refused registration in 2005-06, agencies are either issued a refusal notice or advised to withdraw their application. There were no refusal notices issued for the most recent calendar year, 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006. The total number of DCA applications withdrawn is shown in table 2.
	The following tables show the figures requested by region.
	
		
			  Table 1: DCA registrations in 2005-06 
			  Region  Number 
			 North East 44 
			 East Midlands 130 
			 South West 94 
			 West Midlands 91 
			 North West 125 
			 London 103 
			 South East 129 
			 Eastern 101 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 72 
			 England total 889 
			 Source: CSCI registration and inspection database 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Registration applications from DCAs withdrawn in 2005-06 
			  Region  Number 
			 North East 4 
			 East Midlands 3 
			 South West 4 
			 West Midlands 17 
			 North West 5 
			 London 1 
			 South East 10 
			 Eastern 7 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 8 
			 England total 59 
			 Source: CSCI registration and inspection database

Domiciliary Oxygen Provision

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation was conducted with  (a) service users and  (b) health professionals in West Lancashire prior to the recent change in domiciliary oxygen provision.

Rosie Winterton: Following an announcement of plans for change in July 2003, the Department worked with patients' representatives and health professionals to develop the service specification, which took into account the recommendations of a Royal College of Physicians' working group on the assessment and prescribing of oxygen therapy in the home. The specification was included in tender documents issued in October 2004. The Department also included representatives of the British Thoracic Society, which has developed clinical best practice guidelines on home oxygen therapy, and the British Lung Foundation, which campaigns and supports patients with lung disease, on a central panel that evaluated tenders received for the service. Regional national health service panels, which included healthcare professionals and other NHS staff, undertook a second stage assessment. These panels included NHS representatives for the north-west service region, which includes West Lancashire.

Drug Rehabilitation

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average expenditure per patient was for drug rehabilitation in  (a) Ribble Valley and  (b) Lancashire in the last period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally.

Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a decision on whether to renew funding for the research by the MDEX consortium into Duchenne's muscular dystrophy before the summer recess.

Andy Burnham: We are already supporting the research by the MDEX consortium into Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. The contract for 1.6 million runs until December 2008. Any decision about future funding would be taken in light of the findings of the current research.

Equality and Diversity

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Department has spent in each of the last eight years on promoting equality and diversity.

Ivan Lewis: The Department is fully committed to the equality and diversity agenda and has policies and processes in place to ensure that there is no unfair discrimination. The promotion of equality and diversity has become an integral component within many wider policy initiatives and it is not possible to disaggregate spending.

Fertility Treatment

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many eggs have been obtained from patients since the enactment of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990; how many have been used for research; and how many have been used for fertility treatments;
	(2)  what data are collected on  (a) hyperstimulation syndrome and  (b) other adverse clinical effects when eggs are obtained at fertility centres.

Caroline Flint: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) holds data on egg collections from 1 August 1991 to 31 March 2004. They indicate that the total number of eggs collected from patients was 3,080,812. For data collected between 1 August 1991 and 31 March 1999, this related to eggs collected solely for treatment purposes. From 1 August 1991 to 31 March 2004, 2,806,764 eggs were mixed with sperm for treatment purposes.
	From 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2004, 393 eggs were donated to research. The data held by the HFEA on eggs collected for donation to research are limited because the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and the remit of the HFEA only extends to research involving the use of human embryos.
	The HFEA requires clinics to indicate on the treatment report form if a patient has experienced ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in two sets of circumstances: first, where no eggs were collected when an egg collection was attempted and second, where no embryos were transferred back to the patient even though viable embryos were available for transfer. Reporting clinics also give details of any other adverse clinical effects recorded in these circumstances.

GP Vacancies

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reported GP vacancies there were in the last year for which figures are available; and how many applicants on average there were for each vacancy.

Rosie Winterton: The estimated three-month general practitioner (GP) vacancy rate is 2.4 per cent., and the average number of three-month GP vacancies per 100,000 patients is 1.4 per cent. in England as recorded in the GP Practice Vacancies Survey 2005, England and Wales. The number of applicants for each vacancy is not collected centrally.

Heathrow Airport

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans she has for the future of the health screening unit at Heathrow airport;
	(2)  what assessment the Government have undertaken of the requirement for health screening of visitors entering the UK via Heathrow airport;
	(3)  how many people arriving at Heathrow airport were identified by the Heathrow health screening unit as having tuberculosis in each of the last five years;
	(4)  whether the levels of resources allocated to the health screening unit at Heathrow airport are to be reduced.

Ivan Lewis: The health control unit at Heathrow airport carries out medical examinations under the Immigration Act 1971 and also has port health responsibilities under the Public Health (Aircraft) Regulations 1979. There is a continuing need for both functions.
	Following a review of operational arrangements for both functions, reported in my reply to the hon. Member for Westbury (Dr. Murrison) on 22 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1587-90W, the Health Protection Agency is taking the overall operational lead at points of entry in England to ensure that there are appropriate arrangements for medical examinations under the Immigration Act 1971 and for human health input into port health functions. It is working closely with Hillingdon Primary Care Trust and the London borough of Hillingdon to achieve this.

Hip Replacements

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for a hip replacement was in the Greater West Lancashire Primary Care Partnership area in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The table shows the average waiting time for hip replacement operations in West Lancashire Primary Care Trust (PCT) in each year since the PCT was formed.
	
		
			   Total episodes  Waiting time (days)  Mean waiting time (days) 
			 2002-03 132 35,049 266 
			 2003-04 155 35,077 226 
			 2004-05 180 34,476 192 
			  Notes:  Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Time waited (days) Time waited statistics from hospital episode statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.  All operations count of episodes These figures represent a count of all finished consultant episodes where the procedure was mentioned in any of the 12 operation fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if an operation is mentioned in more than one operation field of the record.  Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data: the data arre ungrossed.  Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care

Home Births

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of births in each primary care trust were home births in each of the last five years.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 13 July 2006:
	As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about what proportion of births were home births in each primary care trust for each of the last five years. (84435)
	The latest year for which data on maternities are available is 2004. The enclosed table, which has also been placed in the House of Commons Library, shows the figures requested for the years 1997 to 2004.

Hospital Mergers (Cheshire and Merseyside)

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will provide an opportunity for hon. Members in the Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority area to ask questions directly to the authors of the report on the potential for mergers of hospitals in Liverpool, Southport and Ormskirk NHS trust;
	(2)  how many organisations her Department considered in awarding the contract to carry out the review of the potential for merging hospitals in Southport, Ormskirk and Liverpool; which organisation was selected; what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of compiling the report; and what measures are in place to ensure that the report will be  (a) independent and  (b) published in full.

Rosie Winterton: The former Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority (SHA), which is now part of the NHS North West SHA, awarded the contract to support its work around preparing national health service trusts to apply for NHS foundation trust status. Therefore, this is a matter for the NHS North West SHA.

Information Technology

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors account for the difference between the forecast national expenditure on the National Programme for Information Technology, as stated in paragraph  (a) on page 25 of the National Audit Office Report the National Programme for IT in the NHS, HC1173, published on 16 June 2006, and the figure given by her Department's Director of Health and Social Services Delivery in oral evidence to the Health Committee in answer to Question 163 on 1 December 2005.

Caroline Flint: The figure given to the Health Committee as the value of the core national procurement programme contracts placed in 2003 and 2004 was 6.2 billion. This figure has not increased since the contracts were let, and is confirmed in the National Audit Office (NAO) report. The forecast national expenditure figure of 9.2 billion referred to by the NAO includes this sum, but in addition includes other elements, some of which are costs not directly associated with the national programme for information technology.
	The other elements are made up of 382 million for contracts and projects added to the original scope of the programme; 239 million for additional services beyond the scope of the core national contracts; and a further 337 million pro rata extrapolation of the cost of the core contracts to cover the period to 2013 to 2014. This last figure is a purely notional sum to allow total expenditure to be projected over 10 years, and needed because two contracts (choose and book, and the new national broadband networkN3) reach the end of their life before the end of 10 years, requiring further provision to take forward the services.
	In addition, a further 1.9 billion represents centrally managed expenditure on centrally managed projects and services within the national programme, and the cost of running the Department's NHS Connecting for Health agency. Some of these costs relate to agency responsibilities other than the national programme, including all of the information technology service delivered by the former NHS Information Authority (NHSIA). The NHSIA spent some 219 million in its last year. NHS Connecting for Health will be spending relatively less centrally and doing much more over 10 years.
	We expect that actual expenditure will be very significantly less than 1.9 billion since, once the initial stages of system development and deployment are complete, the role and size of the agency will reduce accordingly.
	All of these sums are itemised and described in the NAO's report.

Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the document, Delivering 21st century IT support for the NHS, when it was decided to move away from the recommendation for a choice of compliant systems for critical local applications.

Caroline Flint: No such decision has been taken. The strategy for the national programme for information technology requires the integration of multiple systems and applications operating together to functional and technical interoperability standards. Interoperability standards are shared with existing suppliers who are required to demonstrate compliance.
	We have always said that general practitioners would have the option of an alternative system to that supplied by the local service providers (LSP), providing the system meets the necessary compliance standards. Under the proposed 'GP systems of choice' initiative, and subject to the same compliance requirements, general practitioners (GPs) will in future have an even wider choice of systems from approved existing GP system providers as an alternative to that provided by their LSP.
	The aim of the new initiative is to enable GPs to either choose to upgrade their current clinical system, or migrate to an LSP-provided system in order to continue on the path to integration with the NHS Care Records Service. Providing GPs with this wider range of choice, and a clear roadmap to future integration with the NHS Care Records Service has been widely welcomed by the profession.
	The commercial and organisational models chosen for delivering the national programme have produced exceptional value for the taxpayer by avoiding multiple procurements and significantly reducing unit costs for applications and systems. The National Audit Office report acknowledges an independent evaluation that confirms that 4.5 billion has been saved by central rather than local procurement and also acknowledges a further 860 million of savings achieved through centrally negotiated enterprise wide arrangements.

Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1539W, on Connecting for Health, what targets she has put in place for the roll-out of detailed care record access to  (a) the originating organisations,  (b) local care communities and  (c) larger areas.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 1539-40W.

Information Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answers of 26 January 2006,  Official Report, column 2333W, on Arm's Length Bodies, and 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1537W, on Connecting for Health, what the reasons are for the different figures given for the budget for Connecting for Health.

Caroline Flint: The budget figure of 178 million for NHS Connecting for Health (CfH) in 2005-06, quoted in my answer on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1537W, included recurrent cash items. These items were as follows.
	
		
			   000 
			 Capital charges 52,510 
			 Non-recurrent funding 10,260 
		
	
	These items were excluded from the budget figure of 115.23 million for CfH in 2005-06 quoted in my answer on 26 January 2006,  Official Report, column 2333W. Non-recurrent funding is for a single year. Capital charges are a non-cash resource; that is no physical cash is used.

Jury Service

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her estimate is of the cost to the NHS of engagement in jury service by  (a) doctors and  (b) other NHS employees in each of the last three years.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 13 July 2006
	We do not hold this information centrally.

Macmillan Nurses

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to increase the numbers of Macmillan nurses working for the NHS in West Lancashire.

Rosie Winterton: It is for national health service trusts to decide how many nurses, including palliative care nurse specialists, are employed in each specialty within hospitals. It is for local cancer networks, working in partnership with primary care trusts, strategic health authorities and their work force development directorates, to assess, plan and review their work force, education and training needs for all staff linked to the delivery of local and national priorities for cancer.

Maternity Statistics

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) live births and  (b) abortions there were in (i) Essex and (ii) Bedford and Hertfordshire strategic health authority in 2005.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Strategic health authority  Live births  Abortions 
			 Essex 19,064 5,047 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 21,052 5,207

ME/Chronic Fatigue

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specialist myalgic encephalomyelitis/encephaliopathy and chronic fatigue syndrome services are being provided under the public patient initiative; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We are not aware of any specialist chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis services provided under the public patient initiative (PPI). The PPI is an initiative to engage local people in monitoring the quality of health trust activities and service delivery.

ME/Chronic Fatigue

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what her policy is on the future provision of specialist myalgic encephalomyelitis and encephalopathy services by primary care trusts;
	(2)  whether funding for specialist myalgic encephalomyelitis and encephalopathy (ME) services is contained within the baseline budgets of primary care trusts; and what assessment she has made of the impact of the forthcoming restructuring of primary care trusts on the continued funding for specialist ME services;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of  (a) the impact of any reduction in myalgic encephalomyelitis and encephalopathy (ME) services on the continued viability of whole service provision to people with ME and  (b) the availability of other treatments by non-specialists to mitigate such reductions;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of the contribution made by specialist myalgic encephalomyelitis and encephalopathy services to the public and patient involvement initiative.

Ivan Lewis: The national service framework for long-term conditions set out a clear vision of how health and social care organisations can improve the quality, consistency and responsiveness of their services and help improve the lives of people with neurological conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).
	Funding for specialist CFS/ME services is included in the baseline budgets for primary care trusts. No assessment of the impact of any restructuring of primary care trusts on the continued funding of these services has been made.
	There are no plans to reduce CFS/ME services, and hence no assessment of the impact of any hypothetical reduction in services has been made.
	We have made no assessment of the contribution made by specialist CFS/ME centres to the public and patient involvement initiative.

Mental Health Act

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to seek  (a) to repeal and  (b) to amend section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in the forthcoming Mental Health Bill.

Rosie Winterton: The current Government plans for amending the Mental Health Act 1983, as announced in March 2006, do not include repeal of section 117. The provisions of section 117 will in addition apply to patients on supervised community treatment.

Mesothelioma

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are receiving treatment for mesothelioma in each local health authority in England.

Rosie Winterton: The number of patients being treated for mesothelioma in each local health authority in England, for 2004-05.
	
		
			  Health authority of treatment  Total patients 
			 Avon 108 
			 Barking and Havering 32 
			 Barnet, Enfield and Haringey 16 
			 Barnsley 6 
			 Bedfordshire 13 
			 Berkshire 30 
			 Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich 37 
			 Birmingham 60 
			 Bradford 26 
			 Brent and Harrow 6 
			 Buckinghamshire 15 
			 Calderdale and Kirklees 7 
			 Cambridgeshire 70 
			 Camden and Islington 7 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 26 
			 County Durham and Darlington 29 
			 Coventry 21 
			 Croydon 6 
			 Doncaster 22 
			 Dorset 32 
			 Dudley 13 
			 Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow 13 
			 East Kent 36 
			 East Lancashire 9 
			 East London and the City 59 
			 East Riding and Hull 40 
			 East Surrey 10 
			 East Sussex, Brighton and Hove 40 
			 Gateshead and South Tyneside 25 
			 Gloucestershire 35 
			 Herefordshire 2 
			 Hertfordshire 38 
			 Hillingdon 10 
			 Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire 76 
			 Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster 123 
			 Kingston and Richmond 6 
			 Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham 70 
			 Leeds 60 
			 Leicestershire 96 
			 Lincolnshire 12 
			 Liverpool 60 
			 Manchester 98 
			 Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth 28 
			 Morecambe Bay 25 
			 Newcastle and North Tyneside 101 
			 Norfolk 51 
			 Northamptonshire 18 
			 North and East Devon 39 
			 North and Mid Hampshire 13 
			 North Cheshire 18 
			 North Cumbria 16 
			 North Derbyshire 8 
			 North Essex 38 
			 North Nottinghamshire 12 
			 North Staffordshire 18 
			 North-West Lancashire 47 
			 North Yorkshire 25 
			 Nottingham 42 
			 Oxfordshire 26 
			 Redbridge and Waltham Forest 14 
			 Rotherham 7 
			 Salford and Trafford 13 
			 Sefton 4 
			 Sheffield 39 
			 Shropshire 6 
			 Somerset 16 
			 Southampton and South West Hampshire 57 
			 South and West Devon 48 
			 South Cheshire 33 
			 Southern Derbyshire 24 
			 South Essex 49 
			 South Humber 11 
			 South Staffordshire 12 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley 20 
			 Stockport 8 
			 Suffolk 31 
			 Sunderland 29 
			 Tees 59 
			 Wakefield 15 
			 Walsall 6 
			 Warwickshire 21 
			 West Kent 40 
			 West Pennine 26 
			 West Surrey 40 
			 West Sussex 18 
			 Wigan and Bolton 11 
			 Wiltshire 9 
			 Wirral 50 
			 Wolverhampton 12 
			 Worcestershire 12

Ministerial Meetings

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library the record of discussions made by her officials of her recent meeting with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 4 July 2006,  Official Report, column 975W.

National School Fruit Scheme

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of fruit supplied to schools in West Lancashire under the National Fruit Scheme was sourced from  (a) suppliers within 25 miles of the school supplied,  (b) national suppliers and  (c) overseas suppliers, over the period September 2004 to September 2005.

Rosie Winterton: From September 2004 to 2005 schools in West Lancashire received fruit and vegetables under the school fruit and vegetable scheme from two distribution depots located in Wigan and Skelmersdale. Five United Kingdom based suppliers supplied eight different types of fruit and vegetables to the depots. We do not collect information about the distance of suppliers in relation to the schools they supply. No overseas suppliers are participating in the school fruit and vegetable scheme.

New Critical Care Hospital (St. Helier)

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will reply to the response from the Epsom and St. Helier hospital trust to her announcement that the new critical care hospital will be built on the St. Helier site.

Caroline Flint: The Department has received the response from the local national health service on St. Helier and is currently considering the situation.

NHS Professionals

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who pays the superannuation of temporary staff supplied through NHS Professionals to NHS trusts.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 12 July 2006
	National health service employees are entitled to access to the NHS pension scheme.
	NHS Professionals recover the costs of the employer's contribution to the NHS pension scheme from the employing trust.

Nurses

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason there are active programmes recruiting people for training as a nurse abroad.

Rosie Winterton: The Government do not actively recruit nursing students from overseas to train in the national health service. Admissions criteria for nursing courses are the responsibility of individual higher education institutions.

Nurses

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses work in NHS hospitals in the West Lancashire primary care trust area; and how many of them were employed via agencies in the last period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: In September 2005, Southport and Ormskirk hospital national health service trust employed 868 qualified nurses (headcount).
	Information on the number of nurses employed via agencies is not held centrally.
	 Source
	The Information Centre for health and social care, non-medical workforce census

Nut Allergies

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the reasons for the trend in the number of people suffering from a nut allergy.

Ivan Lewis: Studies suggest that the prevalence of food allergy in the United Kingdom may be increasing, especially in children, in line with the general increase in allergic diseases. There are many possible explanations for the apparent rise and there is currently no definitive answer. The Food Standards Agency is currently funding several studies aimed at identifying the prevalence of individual food allergies, including nut allergy. These projects should also give clues as to the possible reasons for the apparent rise in food allergy. The first of these studies is expected to be published in the scientific literature later this year and the second is part of a larger Europe-wide study on food allergy prevalence and factors that influence development of food allergy and will finish in July 2009.

Out-patient Appointments

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many out-patient appointments have been booked by GPs in West Lancashire since April 2005.

Rosie Winterton: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of new out-patient bookings, April 2005 to May 2006 
			  Org ID  Name  Total  Proportion to be mapped to 5F3 (percentage)  Total 
			 RVY Southport and Ormskirk hospital NHS trust 37,593 65 24,669 
			 RRF Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS trust 63,364 25 17,091 
			 REM Aintree hospitals NHS trust 53,244 10 5,324 
			 5F3 West Lancashire primary care trust   47,085 
			  Source: Department of Health, Monthly Monitoring Returns (provider based)

Physiotherapists

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many physiotherapists were working in the NHS in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The number of qualified physiotherapists employed in the national health service in England has increased by 5,754 or 40 per cent. since September 1997 which is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  England 
			   Headcount 
			 1997 14,243 
			 1998 14,699 
			 1999 15,070 
			 2000 15,608 
			 2001 16,212 
			 2002 16,885 
			 2003 17,922 
			 2004 19,139 
			 2005 19,997 
			 Source: The Information Centre for Health and Social Care, non-medical workforce census

Primary Care Trusts

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of its Directed Enhanced Services budget allocation each primary care trust  (a) received and  (b) spent in 2005-06.

Rosie Winterton: The 2005-06 budget allocations made to primary care trusts (PCTs) do not separately identify the directed enhanced service (DES) amounts. However, information on 2005-06 DES spend, based on latest available PCT forecasts, has been placed in the Library. These figures are provisional and unaudited.

Private Sector Provision

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of healthcare provision in England is provided by the private sector.

Ivan Lewis: In 2004-05 expenditure on the purchase of healthcare from non-NHS bodies was 3.666 billion, approximately 5 per cent. of the total national health service budget but that excludes longstanding arrangements relating to the general medical, pharmaceutical and optical services and the purchasing of pharmaceutical products and medical devices from the private sector.

Psychiatric Care

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many psychiatric patients were discharged from in-patient care in each year since 1990.

Rosie Winterton: The number of psychiatric patients discharged from in-patient care by the national health service in England for each year between 1997-98 and 2004-05 is shown in the following table.
	Information about other years is not available.
	
		
			  NHS patients in England discharged from inpatient care with primary diagnosis of a psychiatric condition between 1997-98 and 2004-05 
			   Number 
			 2004-05 147,044 
			 2003-04 143,826 
			 2002-03 142,542 
			 2001-02 139,690 
			 2000-01 144,407 
			 1999-2000 150,615 
			 1998-99 159,382 
			 1997-98 160,306 
			  Notes: 1. A patient discharge episode, where the patient is discharged from hospital, includes transfers to other hospitals and patient deaths, where applicable. 2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. The data do not represent patient numbers because an individual may have more than one episode of care within the same year. 3. The term psychiatric condition is all diagnoses as defined by the international classification of mental and behavioural disorders (ICD-10) codes F00-F99.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for Health and Social Care.

Reproductive Health

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions of the morning-after pill were issued in each primary care trust area in each year since 1993, broken down by age of patient.

Caroline Flint: The information on the number of prescriptions for emergency hormonal contraception prescribed by general practitioner practices in each primary care trust has been placed in the Library. Data by complete years are not available prior to 2002 and it is not possible to break the data down by age.
	The data on emergency hormonal contraception dispensed by family planning clinics could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Skin Cancer

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the use of photodynamic therapy in skin cancer treatment; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: It is not the role of the Department to assess the relative costs and patient benefits of this or other treatments. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been set up to issue clinical guidance to the national health service including: interventional procedure guidance to assess if a procedure is safe for routine use in the NHS; technology appraisals to assess if a treatment is clinically and cost effective; clinical guidelines to advise on the diagnosis and management of certain conditions; and, cancer service guidance to advise on how services should be organised to ensure good outcomes for patients.
	In February 2006, as part of its programme of work on interventional procedures, NICE issued guidance on the use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of non-melanoma skin tumours. It noted that the procedure was generally safe and did not cause major problems although, in theory, it could start off cancerous changes in the skin. NICE also stated that patients need to understand the risks of this treatment before they agree to have PDT and that further treatment may be necessary.
	Also in February 2006, NICE published guidance on Improving Outcomes for people with skin tumours, including melanoma. This guidance includes recommendations on the management of patients with suspected precancerous or cancerous skin lesions. It describes PDT including the advantages and disadvantages of this type of treatment and notes that, at present, there is little information available on long-term cure rates. It does however recommend that a number of surgical and non-surgical procedures for the treatment of skin cancer, including PDT, should be available for use by clinicians in relevant teams, subject to locally agreed standards of competence.

Skin Cancer

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the NHS treatment of skin cancer is undertaken with the use of photodynamic therapy.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect information centrally on the proportion of national health service treatment of skin cancer undertaken with the use of photodynamic therapy (PDT).
	However, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has issued guidance on the use of PDT in the NHS as part its programme of work on interventional procedures. NICE also addressed the use of PDT in its guidance on Improving Outcomes for people with skin tumours, including melanoma.
	Both pieces of guidance were published in February 2006 and can be found on NICE's website.

Social Services Care

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Department's recommended criteria are for the categorisation of the level and extent of care required by each recipient in relation to social services care provided by local authorities.

Ivan Lewis: The Department's recommended criteria to local authorities on setting of eligibility criteria for provision of services to all adults seeking social care support is set out in the Fair Access to Care Services Guidance on Eligibility Criteria for Adult Social Care which is available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/01/96/41/04019641.pdf.
	The guidance prioritises the risks faced by individuals into four bands, critical, substantial, moderate and low, and requires councils to adopt these bands in determining the criteria.

Terminal and Palliative Care

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many terminally ill and palliative care beds were available in each primary care trust in  (a) London and  (b) England for (i) adults and (ii) children in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not routinely collect data on palliative care beds in each primary care trust. Primary care trusts are responsible within the national health service for commissioning and funding services for their resident population, including palliative care beds. However, Hospice Information, an independent organisation shows the number of beds available.
	
		
			  Palliative care places  Beds  NHS beds  Voluntary beds 
			 Londonadult 394 86 308 
			 Englandadult 2,624 496 2,128 
			 Londonchildren 9 0 9 
			 Englandchildren 204 0 204 
			  Source: Hospice information January 2006: An independent service provided by Help the Hospices.

Terminal and Palliative Care

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets her Department has set for tariff pricing for palliative care services; what progress she has made against those targets; and whether the tariff will reflect the cost of the care provided by  (a) voluntary organisations,  (b) the state and  (c) the private sector.

Rosie Winterton: Work to develop health care resource groups (HRGs) for specialist palliative care is ongoing. Currently, payment by results tariffs only apply to certain services provided by national health service trusts. Further work will need to be done before tariffs can be introduced for community, independent sector and third sector services.

Terminal and Palliative Care

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the Health White Paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say, when the Government will bring forward proposals on the  (a) kinds of services required and  (b) the mechanism by which funding will be allocated for community-based palliative care and hospice at home services;
	(2)  how much the Government have allocated to palliative care in 2006-07; and what plans she has for expenditure on palliative care.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not routinely collect data requested on national health service funding of palliative care.
	PCTs are responsible within the NHS for commissioning and funding services for their resident population, including palliative care. It is for them to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission services to meet the health care needs of their local populations.
	Ministers have asked the National Cancer Director, Professor Mike Richards, supported by Professor Ian Philp, National Director for Older People, to prepare a comprehensive strategy to develop and progress end of life care. The strategy will establish the means whereby the Government's manifesto commitment on palliative care and also the end of life care strategy outlined in the White Paper Our health, Our Care, Our Say will be delivered. Professor Richards has been asked to report back to Ministers in the autumn.

Terminal and Palliative Care

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department is committed to full cost recovery for palliative services that are commissioned by the state.

Rosie Winterton: HM Treasury's Cross Cutting Review recommended that funders should recognise that it is legitimate for voluntary and community sector providers to include the relevant element of overheads in their cost estimates for providing a given service under a contract or service agreement. In the context of hospice care, this does not mean the full costs of the hospice, but rather those services provided by the hospice that are commissioned by the primary care trust. National health service commissioners should be moving towards implementing the Treasury's recommendation on full cost recovery on those services they commission from the voluntary sector. The emphasis should, therefore, be on effective negotiation between contracting partners as contracts and service level agreements come up for renewal.

Tuberculosis

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of tuberculosis were reported in each of the last five years in the Southport and Ormskirk hospital NHS trust area.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the following table by primary care trust (PCT) area of residence for the latest years for which data is available.
	
		
			   Southport and Formby PCT  West Lancashire PCT 
			 2000 2 0 
			 2001 4 1 
			 2002 2 1 
			 2003 3 2 
			 2004 5 1 
			  Note: Data as at 7 July 2006  Source: Health Protection Agency, enhanced tuberculosis surveillance scheme

UK Pensioners (Overseas Health Care)

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) bilateral and  (b) multilateral arrangements the United Kingdom has with (i) Estonia, (ii) Finland, (iii) France, (iv) Germany, (v) Greece, (vi) Hungary, (vii) Ireland, (viii) Italy, (ix) Latvia, (x) Lithuania, (xi) Luxembourg, (xii) Malta, (xiii) Netherlands, (xiv) Poland, (xv) Portugal, (xvi) Slovakia, (xvii) Slovenia, (xviii) Spain and (xix) Sweden on the provision of health care for UK pensioners resident in that country.

Rosie Winterton: There are arrangements co-ordinating the social security and health care systems of all the member states of the European Union (EU). This is covered by Regulation (EEC) 1408/71 which is a multilateral instrument.
	It provides that pensioners living in another EU member state who are receiving a United Kingdom state retirement, long-term incapacity or bereavement pension, are entitled to health care on the same basis as that country's own insured persons.

Urinary Reflux

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has  (a) undertaken,  (b) plans to undertake and  (c) evaluated into the (i) number and (ii) age of (A) males and (B) females who have urinary reflux; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has not evaluated, undertaken, or has plans to undertake, research into the number, age and sex distribution of those with urinary reflux.

Walk-in Centres (Funding)

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings  (a) she and  (b) her officials have had on the review of walk-in centre funding arrangements; what was discussed at each meeting; and if she will publish research her Department has (i) undertaken, (ii) commissioned and (iii) received as part of that review process.

Caroline Flint: These matters have been discussed at a number of meetings and proposals will be coming to Ministers shortly. No new research has been undertaken, commissioned or received.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Abattoirs

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2006,  Official Report, column 9W, on abattoirs, how many abattoirs there were in England in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The number of red and poultry meat slaughterhouses recorded in England for the years 1997 to 2005 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Red meat  Poultry meat 
			 1997 375 131 
			 1998 360 131 
			 1999 339 119 
			 2000 316 111 
			 2001 300 116 
			 2002 298 109 
			 2003 282 111 
			 2004 264 105 
			 2005 250 98 
			  Source:  Food Standards AgencyDecember 2005 
		
	
	The number of slaughterhouses in England has reduced since 1997, reflecting a longer-term trend for consolidation. For example in 1987 there were 790. The Government recognise the importance of an adequate network of slaughterhouses to ensure that all sustainable production needs can continue to be met. I also refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my predecessor as Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Jim Knight), on 9 November 2005,  Official Report, column 476W.

Abattoirs

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many abattoirs there are in Yeovil constituency; and how many there were in 1997.

Barry Gardiner: The Department does not keep data on the number of abattoirs by constituency but it is understood that, of the 12 abattoirs in the County of Somerset, one lies within the Yeovil constituency. We have no corresponding data for 1997.

Agency Staff

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what average hourly rate was paid by his Department to each employment agency for staff employed through agencies in 2005-06.

Barry Gardiner: Information is not held centrally on the average hourly rate paid by the Department to each employment agency for personnel engaged through agencies in 2005-06. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Air Conditioning/Heating

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the carbon emissions resulting from  (a) the generation of heating for buildings and  (b) the powering of air conditioning in buildings per head of population (i) in total and (ii) broken down by region.

Ian Pearson: The information requested is set out in the following tables:
	
		
			  Estimated annual carbon emissions from the space heating of domestic and non-domestic buildings per capita 
			   Kilograms 
			 Great Britain 503 
			 England 497 
			 Scotland 526 
			 Wales 577 
		
	
	
		
			  Estimated annual carbon emissions from the air conditioning of domestic and non-domestic buildings per capita 
			   Kilograms 
			 Great Britain 23 
			 England 23 
			 Scotland 20 
			 Wales 19 
		
	
	For Northern Ireland, the annual carbon emissions from the space heating of non-domestic buildings are estimated at 142 kg per capita, and for air-conditioning it is 20 kg. We do not currently have figures for the carbon emissions of homes in Northern Ireland.

Air Quality

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made towards meeting the Government's Air Quality Strategy targets for  (a) carbon monoxide,  (b) lead,  (c) nitrogen dioxide,  (d) particles,  (e) sulphur dioxide,  (f) benzene and  (g) 1,3 butadiene.

Ben Bradshaw: Provisional results for 2005, issued at the beginning of this year, show that the UK maintained and met the Air Quality Strategy's targets for carbon monoxide, benzene and 1,3-butadiene and lead. We missed objectives for nitrogen dioxide (2005) and ozone (2005) and very marginally missed those for particulates (2004) in some parts of the UK. However, we are meeting our current objectives for all air pollutants in most parts of the countryup to 99.5 per cent. in some casesand only a limited number of hot spot areas remain.
	However, based on present measures, more work will be needed to meet the targets for particles and nitrogen dioxide in some parts of our towns and cities. We are currently working with other Departments to review the Air Quality Strategy and explore what additional policy measures could help move us closer to meeting air quality targets. A public consultation on the review of the Air Quality Strategy was launched in April this year and is available from the following address:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/airqualstrat-review/index.htm

Angling

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much angling contributes to the Exchequer; and how much is paid out to assist with angling-related activity.

Ben Bradshaw: There are no exact figures on how much angling contributes to the Exchequer, but estimates suggest that the annual economic activity associated with angling is up to 2.75 billion, directly employing around 20,000 people, either full or part-time.
	The Department provides Grant in Aid of 5.8 million to maintain, improve and develop freshwater fisheries in England, part of which is paid out to assist with angling-related activities.
	I understand that Sport England provide 185,000 in funding to Angling Governing Bodies.

Beaches

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which  (a) bathing and  (b) non-bathing beaches are (i) measured and (ii) not measured for (A) beach and (B) water quality standards; whether each beach which is measured met each standard at its last inspection; and what plans there are to strengthen the (1) monitoring and (2) standards.

Ian Pearson: Bathing waters are identified according to the criteria set by the 1976 EC Bathing Water Directive (1976/160/EEC). There are 405 identified coastal bathing waters in England, which are monitored in accordance with the Directive during the bathing season, which runs from mid-May to the end of September. In 2005, 98.8 per cent. of these met the mandatory standards of the Bathing Water Directive, with only five waters failing to meet the minimum requirements. There are also nine identified inland bathing waters in England, all of which met the mandatory standards. A list of these sites is presented in Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC) Detailed Summary of 2005 Survey Results United Kingdom, which has been placed in the Library of the House. It is also available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/quality/bathing/pdf/report05.pdf
	The monitoring of water quality and the meeting of water quality standards is not required at sites which do not meet the directive's criteria for a bathing water.
	With regard to the strengthening of monitoring and other standards, a revised Bathing Water Directive was recently adopted by the EU and entered into force in March 2006. This revised version will bring a closer focus on the protection of public health and tighter water quality standards to identified bathing waters by 2015.
	The duty to clear litter and refuse under section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, only applies to 'relevant land' above the high water mark. However, beach quality standards are an important element of the international Blue Flag Award administered in the UK by ENCAMS (Environmental Campaigns), and of the UK-wide ENCAMS Seaside Award scheme recognising clean, safe and well-managed beaches.
	Each year local authorities can apply for a Blue Flag or Seaside Award, or both, for any of their beaches. Each application, which is assessed by an independent panel of judges, must satisfy rigorous criteria which covers a broad range of factors pertaining to the management of the beach. The applications for 2006 are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Number of blue flag applications in England 79 
			 Number of successful blue flag applications in England (1)77 
			 Number of seaside award applications in England (2)229 
			 Number of successful seaside award applications in England 229 
			 (1) Two failures due to water quality testing technicalities.  (2) 150 seaside award only applications plus 79 joint blue flag/seaside award applications. 
		
	
	A full list of Blue Flag Award beaches (including marinas) can be found at http://www.seasideawards. org.uk/bf_list.asp. For seaside awards, the link is http://www.seasideawards.org.uk/list.asp
	Southwold Pier gained a Blue Flag England and Boulevard Beach, Blackpool gained a Seaside Award England. They are not showing on the website due to ongoing building work which has over-run its schedule.
	Monitoring and standards for beaches will be strengthened in a new Quality Coast award scheme, developed by ENCAMS and supported by Defra, that will replace the seaside awards for applications from the end of this year. This scheme will provide a broader framework for beach operators to assist in managing the needs of different users and the beach environment. Local environmental quality standards will be a key component of the award, and will be monitored using survey methodology based on the Local Environmental Quality Survey of England which also forms the basis for street cleansing best value performance indicators BV199A-D.

Biofuel Crops

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs why energy aid top-up grants for biofuel crops are not available to crops grown on set aside land.

Barry Gardiner: The 45 per hectare Energy Aid payment was introduced by the European Commission in 2004 as part of the Common Agricultural Policy reform, to encourage the production of biofuels. At the time, certain energy crops grown on set-aside land were eligible for the set-aside payment.
	The Commission has given a commitment in its Biomass Action Plan to review the implementation of the payment by the end of this year.

Bovine Tuberculosis

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many problem herds were involved in his Department's pilot study of the gamma interferon bovine tuberculosis test; and how many cattle  (a) there were in each herd, (b) tested positive to the standard intradermal skin test,  (c) tested positive to the standard intradermal skin test and showed visible lesions or were bacteriologically positive,  (d) were inconclusive to the standard intradermal skin test,  (e) were inconclusive to the standard intradermal skin test and subsequently slaughtered,  (f) were inconclusive to the standard intradermal skin test, were subsequently slaughtered and showed visible lesions or were bacteriologically positive,  (g) tested negative to the standard intradermal skin test but positive to the gamma interferon tuberculosis test and  (h) tested negative to the standard intradermal skin test but positive to the gamma interferon tuberculosis test and, on slaughter, showed visible lesions or were bacteriologically positive.

Ben Bradshaw: An initial report providing an analysis of the data from the field study should be published shortly, once it is finalised.
	In line with standard practice, the report will be freely available, but I have asked my officials to ensure my hon. Friend receives a copy as soon as it is ready.

British Sugar Factory, York

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he has received on the impending closure of the British Sugar factory in York in 2007;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with British Sugar on the implications for farmers in North Yorkshire of the closure of the sugar factory in York;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the implications for local farmers of the closure of the British Sugar factory, with particular reference to the cost of transporting sugar beet to factories.

Barry Gardiner: In addition to a meeting which my noble Friend, Lord Rooker, the Minister for Sustainable Farming and Food had with the National Farmers' Union on 12 July, we are receiving a number of correspondence cases about the implications for growers in the area concerned.
	British Sugar has written to us explaining the background to its decision and informing us that it is currently in discussion with the National Farmers' Union on these issues and with its own staff about the employment consequences at the factory itself. We have asked to be kept informed about progress.

Coastal Defences

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the funds earmarked for sea coastal defences in  (a) Clacton-on-Sea and  (b) Holland-on-Sea have been allocated; and what assessment he has made of the balance of priorities between river and sea flood defences in Essex.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given on 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1402W.
	From April 2006, all local authority flood and coastal erosion capital improvement projects are funded by direct grant aid from Defra. Defra funding is allocated to individual capital improvement projects across the country through a priority scoring system, which looks at the benefits of potential projects compared with the costs. River and sea defences are treated equally within this process.
	Environment Agency budgets for coastal and fluvial funding are drawn up in September, for spending in the following financial year. These figures are based upon asset and watercourse inspections and historical levels of expenditure. There may, in some years, be raised levels of expenditure depending on situations such as storm damage, high rainfall events and varying levels of weed growth in watercourses. Where repairs to damage sustained are above the budgeted level, these works are funded from within the overall area maintenance budget by reprioritising programmed works.

Common Agricultural Policy

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total amount paid under the Common Agricultural Policy to  (a) limited companies and  (b) individuals was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Barry Gardiner: Details relating to payments made to both limited companies and individuals can be found on the following website: www.rpa.gov.uk/about.rpa/CAP payments for EAGGF 2003-04
	Data relating to the EAGGF 2004-05 are being prepared and will be available on the RPA website in the near future.

Common Agricultural Policy

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in the UK received Common Agricultural Policy subsidies of  (a) 0 to 5,000,  (b) 5,000 to 50,000 and  (c) more than 50,000 euros in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05 and (iii) 2005-06.

Barry Gardiner: The number of farmers in England can be found on the following website for the EAGGF year 2003-04: www.rpa.gov.uk/about.rpa/CAP payments for EAGGF 2003-04
	Data relating to the EAGGF year 2004-05 are being prepared and will be available on the RPA website in the near future.
	Analysis for the EAGGF year 2005-06 will not be available until after the year closes in October 2006.
	Please note that all the above data are prepared in sterling as this is the required reporting currency to the EC.

Comprehensive Spending Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with  (a) the Treasury and  (b) the Cabinet Office regarding the pre-comprehensive spending review report; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has had and will continue to have wide ranging and regular discussions with the Chief Secretary about preparations for the 2007 comprehensive spending review, as a matter of key importance to Defra's medium and long-term planning.

Credit Unions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if his Department will provide information and membership forms for credit unions to its employees.

Ian Pearson: The Government welcome the contribution made by the various savings institutions in providing for greater choice and diversity in the financial services sector.
	The Government's guiding principles are to ensure impartiality and to help create a level playing field for all providers of financial services in order that their specific attributes can be properly harnessed.
	It would therefore be inconsistent for a Government Department to favour credit unions above other financial institutions.
	Employees are of course free to join in credit unions if they meet their relevant membership criteria and Departments may provide appropriate levels of support if employees wish to set up a credit union.

Departmental and Agency Staff

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff employed by  (a) his Department,  (b) the Rural Payments Agency,  (c) the Countryside Agency,  (d) the Environment Agency and  (e) English Nature have been previously employed in (i) agriculture and (ii) a related industry.

Barry Gardiner: Records of the previous employment of members of staff are not held electronically and therefore if the information requested was available, it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what draft Bills have been produced by his Department since October 2005; how many were (a) examined and (b) are planned to be examined by (i) a Departmental Select Committee and (ii) a Joint Committee; which draft Bills are still to be produced by his Department; when each is expected to be published; how many clauses each has; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: No draft Bills have been published since October 2005.
	Announcements on future legislation and future draft legislation which will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny will be indicated in the Queen's Speech.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his practice is regarding meeting, discussing and taking into account the views and opinions of  (a) private individuals and  (b) representatives of organisations when drawing up and framing legislation to be introduced by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Defra is committed to strengthening its stakeholder engagement and developing a relationship of trust and confidence with customers, partners and other stakeholders. The Department always seeks a full range of views when drawing up and framing legislation. Consultation is a key part of the policy-making process, both informal and formal. The Department holds regular meetings with representatives of the principal stakeholder groups for our policy areas, actively seeking the involvement of minority groups, and with relevant experts. Organisations and individuals can also contribute to the Department's formal consultations which abide by the Code of Conduct on Consultation. Known stakeholders are alerted to the fact that a formal consultation is taking place, with key stakeholders contributing to the content of the consultation document. All contributors should receive an acknowledgement from the Department, and may be invited to further discuss their comments. As required by the Code, the Department then gives feedback on the responses received and on how the consultation process influenced the policy decision.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the Deposited Papers placed in the Library by his Department since 2000; and when each was published.

Barry Gardiner: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Select Committee Recommendations

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what actions have been taken by his Department to implement Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee recommendations since the 2001-02 session; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Government do make clear in its response to Select Committee Reports whether or not the Committee's recommendations are accepted.

Departmental Staff

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many disabled staff in his Department received support through the Access to Work scheme  (a) in each of the last five years and  (b) in 2006-07.

Barry Gardiner: Defra does not hold information centrally on the use of the Access to Work scheme. Managers access the scheme directly and liaise with their local service provider.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 152W, on departmental staff, how many members of staff in his Department had two or more periods of sick leave of less than five days in 2003 and 2004.

Barry Gardiner: Information on sickness absence in DEFRA in 2003 and 2004 at the level of detail requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Electrical Appliances (Stand-by Mode)

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the annual level of UK carbon emissions resulting from electrical appliances being left in stand-by mode.

Ian Pearson: The most recent analysis of the energy consumption of equipment in households and commercial properties was undertaken by DEFRA's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) last year. This estimated that the level of carbon emissions resulting from electrical appliances left in stand-by mode was just over one million tonnes of carbon per annum.
	The report, Estimated UK standby Electricity Consumption in 2004 (BNXS36) can be found at: http://www.mtprog.com/ApprovedBriefingNotes/BriefingNoteTemplate.aspx?intBriefingNoteID=393
	MTP is currently in the process of updating this information.

FIFA World Cup

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which matches  (a) he and  (b) other Ministers in his Department attended at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany in their Ministerial capacity; at what cost to public funds; and with what contributions from third party organisations.

Barry Gardiner: Neither the Secretary of State nor any Minister in Defra attended any matches at the FIFA World Cup 2006.

Fly-tipping

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimates for fly-tipping incidents recorded by Flycapture were for 2005-06.

Ben Bradshaw: Results from Flycapture, the national fly-tipping database, for the first year showed that an average of over 88,500 fly-tipping incidents per month were reported in the period April 2004 to March 2005.
	Data for 2005-06 are currently being analysed and will be published shortly. No estimates are available.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what circumstances the biotechnology company, organisation or person holding a consent to market a genetically modified organism (GMO) would be considered an operator under the terms of the Environmental Liability Directive; and whether the marketing consent holder would be liable for environmental harm arising from the use of a licensed GMO by doctors, veterinarians or farmers.

Ian Pearson: The definition of an 'operator' in the Environmental Liability Directive means that a biotechnology company and an organisation marketing a genetically modified organism (GMO) would be regarded as an operator for the purposes of the Directive.
	Under the Directive, operators are, in principle, liable for environmental harm caused by their own actions. However, the way that this liability will apply in practice will be dependent in part on decisions following the outcome of the consultation on transposition of the Directive, which the government will be conducting later this year.
	Whether any individual marketing consent holder would be liable for environmental harm arising from the use of a licensed GMO would be dependent on the individual circumstances of the case, in particular the nature of the relationship between the consent holder and the user, and how the environmental damage occurred.

Ivory

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on the  (a) control of ivory stock piles and  (b) reopening of the trade in ivory.

Barry Gardiner: The UK has been closely involved in the debate surrounding proposals for one-off sales of stockpiled ivory, through our involvement in the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES).
	 (a) CITES has placed a number of strict preconditions that have to be met before one-off sales of ivory stock can take place. In addition the proceeds have to be used exclusively for elephant and community conservation projects within, or near, the areas where the elephants reside. The UK will not support the proposed one-off sales if we are not entirely satisfied that the strict conditions have been met.
	 (b) The international ban on trade in ivory remains firmly in place and is fully supported by the UK Government. We remain clearly of the view that the illegal and unsustainable trade in ivory should not be permitted. We will not support any resumption in the commercial trade in ivory until we are satisfied that this will not result in an increase in the illegal killing of elephants, or undermine the conservation of elephant populations elsewhere in the world.
	To assist any considerations I have asked the International Fund for Animal Welfare to prepare estimates of the cost of improving conservation measures to combat elephant poaching commensurate with ensuring that any stimulus that such one-off sales of stockpiled ivory might give to the black market trade would be more than offset by the improved conservation.

Ivory

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the plans under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species for a one-time sale of ivory stocks.

Barry Gardiner: The UK continues to be closely involved in the debate surrounding calls for one-off sales of stockpiled ivory, through our involvement in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The convention has set a number of strict pre-conditions that have to be met before one-off sales of ivory could take place. In addition, parties to CITES have stated that the proceeds would have to be used exclusively for elephant and community conservation projects within, or near, the areas where the elephants reside.
	The UK will continue to work with EU member states and CITES parties so that no decision to allow the proposed one-off sales can take place unless the strict conditions I have referred to have been met.
	To assist any considerations I have asked the International Fund for Animal Welfare to prepare estimates of the cost of improving conservation measures to combat elephant poaching commensurate with ensuring that any stimulus that such one-off sales of stockpiled ivory might give to the black market trade would be more than offset by the improved conservation.

Ivory

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will oppose proposals for sales from the ivory stockpile at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Standing Committee meeting on 2-9 October 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The one-off sales were agreed in principle back in 2002 at the 12th CITES Conference of Parties but the Parties set a number of strict pre-conditions that have to be met before one-off sales of ivory can go ahead.
	This will be discussed at the next CITES Standing Committee in October and the UK will continue to work with EU member states and CITES parties so that no decision to allow the proposed one-off sales can take place unless the strict conditions I have referred to have been met.
	To assist any considerations I have asked the International Fund for Animal Welfare to prepare estimates of the cost of improving conservation measures to combat elephant poaching commensurate with ensuring that any stimulus that such one-off sales of stockpiled ivory might give to the black market trade would be more than offset by the improved conservation.

Levy Boards

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he will make a formal announcement on the reconstitution of the UK levy boards.

Ian Pearson: I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement made by my noble Friend, Lord Rooker, the Minister for Sustainable Farming and Food on the levy boards on 28 June 2006,  Official Report, column 61WS.

Morecambe Sea Defences

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been allocated to Morecambe Sea Defence Scheme for the latest phase of work.

Ian Pearson: The final two phases of the Morecambe Sea Defence Scheme were approved in October 2005. The approved grant eligible cost is 13.8 million.

North Sea (Carbon Sequestration)

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the potential for carbon sequestration within abandoned North Sea fields; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given on 4 July 2005,  Official Report, column 50W.

Nuclear Waste

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the burial of nuclear waste on the environment around the site of burial.

Ian Pearson: The independent Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM), which was appointed by the Government in November 2003, has considered existing research into the environmental effects of the disposal of nuclear waste. The options CoRWM is considering include the geological disposal of radioactive wastes. It will publish its report at the end of July.

Palm Oil

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will carry out a study into the feasibility of producing an emblem to show which foods are not being produced using palm oil.

Barry Gardiner: Defra actively encourages manufacturers and retailers to improve the use of claims and labels to cover the environmental impact of their products.
	However, as palm oil is used in a very wide range of goods, from food to personal care products, and each of these products falls under a different and complex piece of labelling law, it is currently not practical to demand individual products to be labelled. Instead we are focusing on the level of wholesale suppliers and supporting initiatives such as the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) which has developed criteria to assess sustainable palm oil production.
	For information on the RSPO go to: http://sustainable-palmoil.org/

Parliamentary Questions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department were awaiting a reply on 10 July 2006; which of those had been waiting longer than  (a) two and  (b) three weeks for a reply; and what the reason for the delay was in each case.

Ian Pearson: At 10 July Defra had received 5,031 parliamentary questions:
	4,035 were ordinary written;
	747 were named day; and
	249 were Commons orals.
	We had 141 questions awaiting reply, of which 126 had been waiting longer than two weeks and 15 were waiting longer than three weeks.
	We aim to give Members a substantive response to any named day question on the named day and to answer ordinary written questions within a working week of them being tabled. This is not always possible, but Ministers are keen to hold the Department to these levels of performance in general.

Patio Heaters

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will estimate the  (a) carbon dioxide and  (b) greenhouse gas emissions created by outdoor patio heaters in (i) the most recent year for which information is available and (ii) each of the next five years.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 6 June 2006,  Official Report, column 500W to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans).

Pet Fairs

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to change the regulations relating to the sale of pets at pet fairs and other informal markets.

Ben Bradshaw: Our proposal to license pet fairs is detailed in the Regulatory Impact Assessment which was published alongside the Animal Welfare Bill. The Bill is currently being considered by Parliament.
	The Department will consider any implications that the findings of the recent Judicial Review may have on our proposals to regulate pet fairs. We also intend to undertake a full public consultation before any regulations in this area are made.

Poultry Farmers

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of  (a) market conditions for the poultry industry in the UK and  (b) the level of consumer confidence in poultry.

Barry Gardiner: Sales of poultry remain high in this country and the market is recovering generally across the EU. The Government and particularly their relevant agencies, continue to reassure the consumers of the food safety aspects of poultry products. Consumers have been rational in terms of consumption of poultry and eggs, helped by clear advice from the Food Standards Agency.

Regulatory Simplification

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regulatory simplification proposals his Department has received since the start of the initiative; which stakeholders have been consulted on each proposal; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Since the launch of the Government's regulatory simplification initiative on 15 September 2005, the Department has received 44 proposals from 21 organisations including the National Farmers Union, Construction Products Association and GlaxoSmithKline. Of these, 28 relate to or have implications for environmental regulations. Where appropriate, the Department has carried out further consultation with stakeholders on these proposals.
	The Government are engaging with stakeholders from private, public, and voluntary sectors as part of a radical programme of reform to reduce unnecessary and burdensome regulation. The Government welcome suggestions from stakeholders for regulatory simplification.

Single Payments Scheme

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers are still to receive payment advice from the Rural Payments Agency.

Barry Gardiner: The Rural Payments Agency provides payment advice at the point it is ready to make payment to claimants. All claimants to the 2005 Single Payment Scheme (SPS) have received notification of their entitlement position. In the majority of cases these entitlement statements are supported by a fully validated claim. As of 4 July 2006, approximately 8,500 claimants to the 2005 SPS had yet to receive any payment or payment notification, over 8,000 of which are each due to receive less than 1,000.

Single Payments Scheme

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers have not yet had single farm payment scheme application forms dispatched to them.

Ben Bradshaw: Single Payment Scheme (SPS) application forms were dispatched to all known customers by 25 April 2006. A small number of new customers or existing customers requesting an additional copy of their form occurred after this date, all of which have been dispatched.

Single Payments Scheme

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the error rate for single farm payment forms was for 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: By 15 June, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) had received approximately 110,000 claim forms to the 2006 Single Payment Scheme. To assist customers and reduce processing time, RPA has been undertaking manual checks to ensure that claims contain sufficient information to process. Around 11 per cent. of the claims received did not contain the requisite information, and the claimants have been contacted by RPA. With the exception of unsigned claims, which had to be returned to the customer, claimants were asked to provide the missing information to facilitate processing of their claim.
	The remaining claims will be paid as soon as legally possible following the positive action set out in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's oral statement on 22 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1478.

Single Payments Scheme

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the largest single farmer subsidy, including EU subsidy, paid in Yeovil constituency was in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2005.

Barry Gardiner: The largest subsidy payment made in the Yeovil constituency for the periods is given in the table:
	
		
			
			 2003-04 190,195.36 
			 2004-05 200,308.43

Single Payments Scheme

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of farmers are still to receive their single farm payments.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the Secretary of State's written statement on 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 43WS.

Sugar Beet

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to increase bioethanol production at sugar beet factories.

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential for developing sugar beet as a source of biomass and biofuels.

Ian Pearson: The Government support the use of bio-energy as part of the strategy for improving sustainability and reducing the impact of climate change. We recognise that the production of biofuels offers farmers an alternative market for sugar beet and are keen to develop this. British Sugar are building a biofuel processing plant in Norfolk that will use sugar beet as one of the feedstocks.
	The Government are promoting the production of bioethanol through a 20 pence per litre duty rate cut. To further develop the supply of biofuels, a Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation will be introduced to require 5 per cent. of fuel sold in the UK to come from a renewable source by 2010. An enhanced capital allowance scheme is also being considered for the cleanest biofuels processing plants. This would allow the cost of capital assets to be written-off against taxable profits. Following the reform of the sugar regime, farmers can claim the EU's 45 per hectare Energy Aid payment for sugar beet grown on non set-aside land.

Sugar Beet

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the viability of sugar beet as a rotation crop.

Barry Gardiner: The implications for UK growers of the reform of the EU sugar regime were included in the final Regulatory Impact Assessment which my Department submitted to Parliament following formal adoption of the agreement earlier this year.

Sustainable Competition

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Department of Trade and Industry on the inclusion of the promotion of sustainable development within the remit of the Competition Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Department has had no such discussions.

Tallow

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the categorisation of tallow as a waste product as defined by the Animal By-products regulations and the Waste Framework Directive.

Ian Pearson: Whether or not a substance is waste within the meaning of Article 1 (a) of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) (75/442/EEC as amended) is a matter that must be determined on the facts of the case and the interpretation of the law is a matter for the Courts. It is not a function of the Government to classify or declassify any particular substance as waste or non-waste.
	The EU Animal By-Products Regulation lays down rules governing the use and disposal of tallow, as well as other processed animal by-products, and requires that where tallow is subject to incineration or co-incineration (for example, used as a fuel), it must be disposed of as waste in accordance with the Waste Incineration Directive.
	On 21 December 2005, the European Commission published its Thematic Strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste together with a proposed revision of the WFD. The draft revised WFD contains a proposal which would enable the Commission to adopt environmental and quality criteria for specified waste streams. Where these criteria are met, the effect would be to deem that the recovery of the specified waste had been completed and that it had ceased to be waste. The Commission's Thematic Strategy proposes that, subject to the outcome of an environmental study which the Commission is currently undertaking, the waste streams addressed by this system should include the use of tallow as a fuel.

Televisions

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effect of predicted future sales of high end television sales, including plasma screens, on carbon dioxide emissions from their use comparative to existing television use.

Ian Pearson: The Government's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) estimates that in 2005 the 63 million television sets in use in the UK consumed around 9.6 Terra Watt Hours (TWh) of electricityequivalent to 1 million tonnes of carbon. By 2010, MTP estimates that the number of television sets will increase to around 67 million, consuming around 15.7 TWh of electricityequivalent to 1.7 million tonnes of carbon.
	MTP analysis indicates that, at present, new traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions (larger than 24 inches) consume around 250 KWh per annum whereas newer flat screen plasma and LCD TVs (larger than 24 inches) consume an average of around 900 KWh per annum.
	In 2005, MTP estimates that 56 million (88 per cent.) televisions were CRT sets and 6 million (10 per cent.) were plasma or LCD screens. In 2010, MTP expects that 51 per cent. of televisions will be CRT, 28 per cent. LCD, 10 per cent. plasma, and 11 per cent. other technologies.
	Beyond 2010, newly emerging television technologies such as Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) screens, will offer potential energy savings in both manufacture and use, compared to existing LED technology. The MTP indicates that commercial OLED televisions will be available by 2010.
	The issue of increasing emissions from new generation television sets and the potential impact of emerging technologies was assessed in a report published for Defra in June 2005, entitled An Assessment of Emerging Innovative Energy Efficient Technologies as part of the Energy Efficiency Innovation Review. This report is available on the MTP web site at: www.mtprog.com

Timber (Papua New Guinea)

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to tackle illegal logging in Papua New Guinea; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Trade in illegal timber is unacceptable.
	As the world's fourth biggest net wood product importer, the UK recognises that it can play an important role in influencing timber markets. The Government are committed to tackling illegal logging and its associated trade.
	At the international level, the UK engages in a number of bilateral and multi-lateral fora. In particular we are working with other major G8 timber consuming countries to follow up commitments made to tackle illegal logging at the G8 Environment and Development Ministerial in March 2005.

Trees

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of trees in each country  (a) had full crowns,  (b) had slight defoliation,  (c) had moderate defoliation,  (d) had severe defoliation and  (e) were dead in the most recent survey of tree health in Europe under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution.

Barry Gardiner: Surveys on defoliation are undertaken by the International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forestsa body operating under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution.
	The most recent published results are those for the survey undertaken in 2004. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor as Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Jim Knight), on 15 June 2005,  Official Report, column 432W. The results of the survey undertaken in 2005 are not expected to be published until September 2006.

Trees

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps  (a) have been taken and  (b) are planned to improve tree health.

Barry Gardiner: The need to maintain, and improve where necessary, the health and vitality of trees is integral to the Government's approach to sustainable forest management. We have set this out in the UK Forestry Standard and its supporting literature, which contain many specific measures for protecting woodland and improving tree health. All woodland management by the Forestry Commission is consistent with this standard and we expect private woodland owners that receive grant aid from the Forestry Commission to also meet the standard. The Government have encouraged the development of the voluntary UK Woodland Assurance Standard that provides an independent verification of compliance with good practice and measures to ensure the continuing good health of woodland. We shall continue to ensure compliance with the UK Forest Standard in those woods managed by the Forestry Commission and encourage it in the private sector.
	We will also continue to improve, through research, our knowledge of factors affecting tree health and we shall maintain a vigilant guard against the establishment of non-native pests and diseases.
	The prospect of changing climate is a threat to the continuing good health of long-lived organisms like trees. We have a number of long-standing research programmes the results of which are being fed into adaptation policies for woodland. plans are well advanced for instituting more such research. Mindful of the changing potential risks from non-native pests, we have taken the steps necessary to make the UK a 'protected zone' within Europe for a number of pests and diseases, most recently for a fungal blight of sweet chestnut. We are planning to implement measures, in accordance with an EU Commission decision which will apply throughout the community, against an insect pest of the same species, the oriental chestnut gall wasp.
	In improving tree health, we are conscious that the use of chemicals against pests and noxious weeds may itself be a less than perfect solution. Therefore in 2004 we published guidance on reducing pesticide use in forestry and support moves to find other means of control. Examples are the recent deployment of a predatory beetle to control outbreaks of the great spruce bark beetle and continuing development of integrated pest management techniques against one of our most serious forest pests, the Hylobius weevil.

Warm Front

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will revise the Warm Front eligibility criteria to make low-income householders caring for a severely disabled adult eligible for assistance with heating and insulation improvements.

Ian Pearson: The Warm Front Scheme is designed to provide support to those households which are most at risk of fuel poverty. The eligibility criteria for the scheme are designed to identify those households through receipt of specified income or disability related benefits.
	We regularly review the scope and delivery of the scheme and will consider this request as part of that process.

Waste

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of  (a) aluminium,  (b) wood , (c) paper,  (d) green waste,  (e) glass,  (f) steel and  (g) textiles there were in the municipal waste stream in each year since 2004-05; and how much of each he estimates was (i) recycled, (ii) landfilled and (iii) sent to energy from waste facilities (A) in total and (B) broken down by local authority area.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on tonnages of specific materials in the municipal waste stream is not available, other than when separately collected for recycling. However, composition analysis of household waste carried out for the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report Waste not, want not, published in November 2002, provided proportions of individual materials in the waste stream. These proportions have been applied to the 2004-05 WasteDataFlow results to produce estimated totals for England which are shown as follows. A breakdown of results for each local authority is not available.
	
		
			  2004-05 
			   Tonnes (thousand) 
			 All cans 667 
			 Scrap metal and white goods 1,157 
			 Paper and card 4,746 
			 Green waste (compost) 5,255 
			 Glass 1,757 
			 Wood 1,067 
			 Textiles 750 
		
	
	Data on the tonnages of different materials from household sources collected for recycling in England since 2003-04 are not available.

Waste

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total volume of  (a) domestic,  (b) commercial and  (c) other waste was in each region in each year since 2002-03; what this represents per head of population; and what proportion was (i) sent to landfill, (ii) incinerated and (iii) disposed of by other means in each case.

Ben Bradshaw: The estimates (data) for municipal waste (of which approximately 90 per cent. is domestic waste) arisings and management shown in the following tables are taken from the annual DEFRA Municipal Waste Management Survey for 2002-03 and 2003-04. Provisional municipal waste estimates for 2004-05 are from WasteDataFlow.
	The figures for both commercial waste and industrial waste are taken from the Environment Agency's Commercial and Industrial Waste Survey and are available for 2002-03 only. Results for other types of waste are not available broken down at regional level. 'Other' includes waste recycled and/or composted. Totals may not add up due to rounding.
	
		
			  Municipal waste 
			  Thousand tonnes 
			   Arisings  Tonnes per head( 1)  Landfill  Incinerated  Other 
			  2002-03  
			 East Midlands 2,449 0.58 1,899 142 408 
			 East of England 3,012 0.56 2,369 43 600 
			 London 4,446 0.60 3,163 873 410 
			 North East 1,657 0.65 1,261 232 164 
			 North West 4,344 0.64 3,625 112 607 
			 South East 4,538 0.56 3,467 16 1,055 
			 South West 2,901 0.58 2,263 3 635 
			 West Midlands 3,046 0.57 1,650 968 428 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 3,000 0.60 2,372 217 411 
			  2003-04  
			 East Midlands 2,445 0.57 1,791 151 503 
			 East of England 2,944 0.54 2,203 36 704 
			 London 4,342 0.59 3,021 827 494 
			 North East 1,636 0.64 1,147 216 273 
			 North West 4,380 0.64 3,491 109 779 
			 South East 4,529 0.56 3,310 93 1,125 
			 South West 2,876 0.57 2,166 4 695 
			 West Midlands 3,031 0.57 1,594 928 509 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 2,931 0.59 2,212 237 482 
			  2004-5  
			 East Midlands 2,537 0.59 1,684 167 685 
			 East of England 3,054 0.56 2,116 35 902 
			 London 4,378 0.59 2,865 871 642 
			 North East 1,669 0.66 1,103 229 337 
			 North West 4,305 0.63 3,226 107 972 
			 South East 4,635 0.57 3,138 187 1310 
			 South West 3,000 0.60 2,098 3 898 
			 West Midlands 3,124 0.59 1,530 952 643 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 3,033 0.60 2,141 275 618 
		
	
	
		
			  2002-03 Commercial waste 
			  Thousand tonnes 
			   Arisings  Tonnes per head(1)  Landfill  Incinerated  Other 
			 East Midlands 2,322 0.55 1,178 113 1,031 
			 East of England 3,308 0.61 1,389 111 1,808 
			 London 5,604 0.76 2,520 286 2,798 
			 North East 1,199 0.47 589 121 489 
			 North West 3,833 0.57 2,035 133 1,665 
			 South East 5,271 0.66 2,547 223 2,501 
			 South West 2,967 0.60 1,549 47 1,371 
			 West Midlands 3,019 0.57 1,457 99 1,463 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 2,797 0.56 1,261 64 1,472 
		
	
	
		
			  2002-03 Industrial waste 
			  Thousand tonnes 
			   Arisings  Tonnes per head( 1)  Landfill  Incinerated  Other 
			 East Midlands 5,771 1.37 2,550 145 3,076 
			 East of England 3,256 0.60 857 202 2,197 
			 London 1,902 0.26 482 88 1,332 
			 North East 3,400 1.34 1,293 181 1,926 
			 North West 4,502 0.66 1,867 226 2,409 
			 South East 3,581 0.45 1,310 192 2,079 
			 South West 2,589 0.52 802 63 1,724 
			 West Midlands 4,246 0.80 1,457 135 2,654 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 8,339 1.67 2,574 89 5,676 
			 (1 )Calculated using mid-year population estimates from the Office of National Statistics.

Waste

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has for a variable charge for household waste; and what recent discussions he has had with the Local Government Association on this issue.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 749W.
	The Secretary of State invited the Local Government Association (LGA) and local authorities to share their views on household waste charging when he addressed the LGA conference earlier this month. Neither I nor the Secretary of State have had further discussions on the issue with the LGA.

Water

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the amount of residue from  (a) anti-depressant and  (b) other drugs in waste water which has passed through sewage treatment plants.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 7 June 2004,  Official Report, column 234W.

Water

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers Ofwat has to take action against overcharging of water customers; and what steps he plans to take in this area.

Ian Pearson: Ofwat reviews and sets overall price limits, which balance the need for individual water and sewerage companies to carry out their functions with customer interests. In December 2004, Ofwat set price limits for each company for the period 2005-10.
	Companies are responsible for deciding individual charging schemes, but these must be approved by Ofwat every year. Detailed information on this is published in the Water and sewerage charges report: http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/aptrix/ofwat/publish.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/tariff_report06.pdf/$FILE/tariff report06.pdf.
	The established principle is that charges should broadly reflect the cost of the service provided. If necessary, Ofwat can take regulatory action to ensure that customers do not pay for services that have not been delivered.

Water

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will amend the building regulations to take account of the lower water infrastructure connection charges for new properties meeting high water efficiency standards; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: This summer, the Government will consult on proposals to revise regulations to secure improved water efficiency in new housing, following the Sustainable Buildings Task Group recommendations.
	Within the Water Saving Group, Ofwat is looking at developing incentives to improve the promotion of water efficiency by water companies. Specifically, Ofwat is investigating infrastructure charges and the possibility of water companies offering housing developers incentives, in terms of reduced infrastructure charges, to install water efficient devices in new buildings. Ofwat is in the process of convening a small group of water companies and housing developers to discuss and assess the issues surrounding such incentives and the possible use of differential infrastructure charges.

Water

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) percentage and  (b) volume of clean water was lost through leaks in public pipes in Guildford in each of the last five years; what cost was incurred due to the loss of water; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Thames Water provides the water supply for the majority of consumers in Guildford, with some consumers being supplied by Three Valleys Water. Ofwat collects information on leakage on the basis of company supply area only. Specific figures relating to percentage, volume and cost of leakage in Guildford are not available. Water company leakage performance is published annually by Ofwat in the Security of supply, leakage and the efficient use of water reports.

Water

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average monthly cost to consumers was of  (a) water services and  (b) sewerage services in each water supply area in 2005-06; and what the average monthly cost was to (i) metered and (ii) unmetered customers.

Ian Pearson: Ofwat is the economic regulator for the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. In December 2004 it set price limits for the period 2005-10.
	The following table sets out the average monthly cost of water and sewerage services in 2005-06, for metered and unmetered customers. Each figure is based on the annual average bill for the particular service. Individual bills can be more or less than the average. More information can be found in Ofwat's Water and sewerage charges 2006-07 report, available on their website at:
	http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/aptrix/ofwat/publish.nsf/Attach mentsByTitle/tariff_report06.pdf/$FILE/tariff_report06.pdf
	
		
			  2005-06 
			  () 
			  
			  Water and sewerage companies  Un-metered water  Un-metered sewerage  Metered water  Metered Sewerage 
			 Anglian 13 17 10 12 
			 Dwr Cymru 13 17 9 9 
			 Northumbrian 9  8  
			 Essex and Suffolk 13  10  
			 Severn Trent 11 10 9 10 
			 South West 15 27 10 16 
			 Southern 9 17 9 14 
			 Thames 13 9 11 8 
			 United Utilities 12 13 10 12 
			 Wessex 13 15 10 11 
			 Yorkshire 11 12 9 10 
			  
			  Water only companies 
			 Bournemouth and W Hampshire 11  10  
			 Bristol 11  10  
			 Cambridge 10  8  
			 Cholderton 13  12  
			 Dee Valley 11  7  
			 Folkestone and Dover 15  11  
			 Mid Kent 13  10  
			 Portsmouth 7  7  
			 South East 14  11  
			 South Staffordshire 9  8  
			 Sutton and East Surrey 13  10  
			 Tendring Hundred 17  12  
			 Three Valleys 12  10